Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/bygreatwallletteOOwillrich 


i^^>U<.^i^^.yr^£^^ 


(1895) 


By  The  Great  Wall 

Letters  from  China 


The  Selected  Correspondence  of 

ISABELLA  RIGGS  WILLIAMS 

Missionary  of  the  American  Board  to  China  iSSd-lSgy 


Introduction  by 
ARTHUR  H.  SMITH 


ILLUSTRATED 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell    Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,   1909,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY  .  ,  a 


New  York;  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto :  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:     100    Princes    Street 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  volume  is  a  little  window  opened  into  the 
life  and  work  of  an  exceptionally  equipped 
missionary,  whose  earliest  recollections  were 
associated  with  the  labors  of  her  parents  for  the  native 
tribes  of  America. 

Kalgan,  the  northern  gateway  of  China,  was  the  scene 
of  her  labors  for  a  generation.  It  was  here  that  a  mis- 
sion station  was  begun  amid  a  people  hard  and  unimpress- 
ible,  many  of  them  Shansi  men  without  their  families, 
who  more  than  most,  even  in  mercantile  and  materialistic 
China,  are  given  up  to  the  worship  of  paper  gods  and 
paper  notes,  of  brass  gods  and  brass  cash.  It  was  here 
that  Mrs.  Williams  won  the  hearts  of  Chinese  women  and 
girls ;  here  that  she  showed  what  a  Christian  home  may 
be,  and  how  the  children  of  such  a  home  can  be  trained 
for  wide  and  unselfish  usefulness  wherever  their  lot  is 
cast.  No  object-lesson  is  more  needed  in  the  Celestial 
Empire  than  this.  Many  glimpses  of  that  patient  and 
tireless  missionary  activity  which  makes  itself  all  things 
to  all  men  are  given  in  this  story.  Here  indeed  is  the 
faith  and  the  patience  of  the  saints. 

In  1900,  only  two  years  after  the  last  letters  of  this  vol- 
ume were  written,  Eev.  Mark  Williams,  with  his  fellow- 
missionaries  at  Kalgan,  joined  later  by  others  in  Mon- 
golia, escaped  across  the  Desert  of  Gobi,  and  after  having 
endured  many  privations  and  much  suffering,  reached 
the  Russian  frontier  in  a  little  more  than  two  months 
from  their  leaving  Kalgan. 

Kg  such  demonstration  of  the  essential  unity  of  the 

5 


6  INTKODUCTION 

Chinese  race  had  ever  been  afforded  as  was  witnessed  in 
the  Boxer  uprising.  In  its  train  it  brought  great  suffer- 
ing both  to  Cliina  and  to  many  in  the  West  But  it 
marked  a  turning-point,  not  only  in  the  history  of  the 
Chinese  Empire,  but  also  of  the  Far  East.  Already  Old 
China  is  going  or  gone  j  a  new  and  unknown  China  is 
slowly  emerging.  Kalgan,  which  we  once  regarded  as  a 
"jumping-off  place"  marking  the  boundaries  between 
the  remotest  East  and  the  extension  of  the  European 
West,  is  becoming  modernized,  and  will  soon  be  opened 
as  an  inland  port.  Two  thousand  years  ago  the  Emperor 
Ch'in  Shih  Huang  built  the  Great  Wall  to  protect  the 
pass  leading  to  the  fertile  plains  of  China.  To-day  a 
railway  runs  throughout  this  Nan  K'ou  Pass,  joining 
Kalgan  to  Peking  j  a  railway  with  sharp  curves,  steep 
grades  and  long  tunnels,  and  all  built  by  the  Chinese 
without  foreign  aid.  This  fact  alone  might  serve  as  an 
index  of  the  vast  changes  taking  place  in  China.  In  due 
time  this  line  will  be  extended  to  Urga  and  Kiachta 
(along  the  very  path  of  the  escaping  party  in  1900),  join- 
ing the  Trans-Siberian  Eailway,  and  making  a  direct 
route  from  Peking  to  Paris. 

In  the  new  era  now  upon  us  nothing  is  more  important 
than  that  the  East  and  the  West  should  come  to  a  mutual 
comprehension.  Towards  that  end  the  subject  of  this 
volume  and  her  daughter  gave  their  lives,  a  precious  con- 
tribution which  in  God's  great  economy  will  some  time  be 
seen  to  have  been  not  in  vain. 

Aethue  H.  Smith. 
FeMng,  Marchj  1909. 


FOREWORD 

To  write  fittingly  a  foreword  to  these  letters  froni 
China  one  must  have  inside  knowledge  of  the 
spirit,  the  sacrifice  and  the  joy  of  the  life  of 
which  they  give  glimpses. 

When  Isabella  Riggs  Williams  went  from  us  in  1866  to 
China,  it  was  as  if  to  another  world,  much  as  if  in  these 
days  one  were  to  venture  on  a  voyage  to  Mars.  The  long 
ship  journey  around  the  Cape,  and  the  long  delayed  let- 
ters, served  but  to  deepen  such  impressions.  And  then 
the  letters,  on  thinnest  of  thin  paper,  telling  of  strange 
places  and  people  and  later  of  the  obstacles  and  difficul- 
ties to  be  overcome,  for  a  time  greatly  increased  the  far- 
away-ness. 

As  I  remember,  to  us  at  home,  two  thoughts  soon  came 
out  of  the  void  of  distance  and  strangeness:  one,  that 
however  far  away  she  might  be,  Isabella  was  the  same 
dear,  elder  sister,  full  of  home  thoughts  and  home  love  ; 
and  the  other  that  in  it  all  there  was  little  thought  of 
personal  sacrifice,  but  an  ever-increasing  joy  in  service, 
and  an  inconquerable  hope. 

As  if  giving  concrete  proof  of  this,  by  the  mother^  s 
grave  under  the  shadow  of  the  Great  Wall,  there  is  also 
that  of  the  eldest  daughter.  Another  daughter  has  laid 
away  in  India  her  dearest  and  best,  and  yet  another  is 
now  in  the  heart  of  China,  rendering  service  to  the  Master 
in  the  same  spirit  of  loyalty  and  hope. 


Thomas  Laweence  Eiggs. 


OahCf  S(mth  Dakota, 


CONTENTS 


1. 

A  Goodly  Heritage 

13 

II. 

The  Journey  to  China    . 

►      49 

III. 

Beginnings  at  Kalgan 

•      95 

IV. 

The  Patience  of  Hope      . 

.     149 

V. 

By  Land  and  By  Sea 

.     190 

VI. 

In  Labors  more  Abundant 

,     200 

VII. 

Rest  by  the  Way 

.    265 

VIII. 

Love  Never  Faileth 

.    276 

IX. 

Poor  Dumb  Mouths  .    -    . 

.     313 

X. 

Letters  of  Henrietta  Willia] 

MS 

»     327 

9 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 

Isabella  R.  Williams Title 

Rest  in  Flight 43 

The  Sailing  Ship,  Samuel  Russell      .        .        .52 

By  the  Great  Wall loi 

Escaping  from  the  Boxers  Across  the  Desert 

OF  Gobi 141 

Journeying  to  Kalgan 174 

The  Home  at  Kalgan 174 

Mark  and  Isabella  Williams  in  188  i  .        .190 

A  Temple  at  Kalgan 231 

Chinese  Children  at  Play 289 

A  Group  of  Buddhist  Priests      .        .        ,        .319 

A  Chinese  K'ang 319 

Henrietta  B.  Williams 326 

A  Mongouan  Tent  and  Family  .        .        .        •    35 1 


By  The  Great  Wall 


A  GOODLY  HEEITAGE 

Bead,  Sweet,  how  others  strove, 
Till  we  are  stouter ; 
What  they  renoimced, 
Till  we  are  less  afraid ; 
How  many  times  they  bore 
The  faithful  witness, 
Till  we  are  helped. 

— Emily  Dickinson. 

ISABELLA  EIGGS  was  born  into  the  missionary  in- 
heritance. In  1837  her  father  and  mother,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stephen  E.  Eiggs,  received  their  commission  as 
foreign  missionaries,  and,  after  a  journey  of  more  than 
three  thousand  miles,  arrived  at  Fort  Snelling,  in  Minne- 
sota, then  the  frontier  outpost  of  the  United  States  Army. 
Still  travelling  westward  they  reached  Lacquiparle  on  the 
upper  Minnesota  Eiver,  where,  in  1835,  Dr.  Thomas 
Williamson  had  begun  work  among  the  Dakota  Indians. 
The  story  of  their  life  of  service  is  known  to  many 
through  the  book  *'  Mary  and  I,  or  Forty  Years  with  the 
Sioux.'*  Some  memories  of  the  early  days  in  the  mission 
home  are  now  given  by  one  of  the  daughters,  Anna 
Eiggs  Warner,  to  furnish  a  background  for  the  letters 
which  follow  in  this  volume. 

*^  To  father  and  mother  on  their  arrival  at  Lacquiparle 
was  assigned  the  long  and  narrow  upper  chamber  in  Dr. 

13 


14        ,;.,.  .BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Williamson^s  log  house,  which  became  their  home  for 
nearly  five  years.  Here  the  eldest  son  Alfred,  whom  the 
Indians  called  Zitkadanwashta,  Good  Bird,  was  born, 
and,  as  the  father  wrote,  ^  in  the  spring  of  1840,  before 
the  snows  had  disappeared,  or  the  ducks  come  back  to 
this  northern  land,  a  baby  girl  was  added  to  the  little 
family  in  the  upper  chamber.'  She  was  named  Isabella 
Burgess  for  the  wife  of  her  father' s  lifelong  friend,  Dyer 
Burgess  of  Ohio.  As  the  spring  began  to  bourgeon  into 
leaf  and  flower,  the  mother's  heart  longed  for  a  change, 
a  taste  of  the  full  measure  of  life.  So  a  pleasure  trip  was 
planned  in  company  with  Mr.  Eenville's  annual  caravan 
to  Fort  Snelling,  Hhe  fur-trader's  Mecca.'  Good  Bird 
was  left  behind,  but  the  three  months'  old  baby  Isabella 
must  of  necessity  be  taken  along.  The  journey  at  first 
was  over  the  pleasant  prairie,  and  all  was  well.  But 
when  the  Traverse  was  reached,  the  big  boat  had  floated 
away.  There  was  naught  to  do  but  to  cross  the  Minne- 
sota Eiver  in  a  crazy  canoe,  and  attempt  the  difficult 
journey  through  swamp  and  stream  and  over  the  logs  of 
the  Big  Woods  on  horseback,  and  so  the  lady  mother 
rode,  without  a  saddle,  but  *  the  little  lady  Isabella  rode 
better,  perched  on  a  Dakota  woman's  back.'  This  was 
her  first  journey  into  the  world.  Perchance  the  narrow 
room  was  ever  after  too  narrow  for  the  eyes  that  had  seen 
visions  of  hills  and  trees  and  flowers,  for  a  tale  comes 
down  to  us  of  the  scare  she  gave  the  dwellers  in  that 
upper  room  when  she  was  found  outside  the  window 
ledge,  on  the  shelf  where  milk  was  put  to  cool !  Little 
lady,  with  your  round,  inquiring  eyes,  were  yon  begin- 
ning already  to  turn  the  pages  of  your  Wonder  Book,  the 
book  of  Nature  and  of  Life  ! 

"  About  this  time  the  expanding  needs  of  the  family  as 
well  as  of  the  missionary  life  made  a  change  imperative. 
Two  new  mission  houses  were  built  on  the  high  bluffe  of 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  16 

the  Minnesota  River.  To  the  wiest  was  the  ever  beauti- 
ful lake,  and  on  either  hand  the  wonderful  stretch  of 
rolling  prairie,  of  hill,  and  deep  ravine,  and  river.  The 
home  was  now  an  *  upper  rooni^  no  longer,  but  up- 
stairs, down-stairs  and  my  lady's  chamber.  Here  other 
children  came  to  share  its  joys.  It  mattered  not  to  us 
that  the  floors  were  carpetless  or  the  furnishings  plain, 
or  that  sometimes  snow  sifted  in  on  the  stairway  and  at 
the  window  ledges.  Lovely  it  was  in  our  eyes,  and  lovely 
the  mother  who  had  it  in  her  keeping.  Here  was  the 
great  room  where  the  Indians  sat  on  one  side ;  here  fath- 
er* s  desk,  and  here  the  medicine  shelves  with  rows  of 
mysterious  bottles,  salts  and  rhubarb  and  jalap.  A  big 
saddle-bag  stove  was  in  the  centre,  and  by  the  west  win- 
dow was  mother  in  her  rocking-chair.  Here  too  was  the 
Children' s  Corner.  Father  at  his  desk  was  never  too  busy 
to  turn  in  his  chair  and  listen  to  the  complainings  or  re- 
quests of  our  Indian  friends  who  were  ever  coming  and 
going  with  moccasined  feet.  Sometimes  it  was  medicine 
for  the  ailing  baby,  or  if  a  warm  garment  was  needed,  it 
was  then  mother's  opportunity  ;  or  was  it  a  case  of  real 
hunger,  with  what  eager  feet  the  children  ran  for  a  piece 
of  corn  bread  or  a  cold  potato  for  Old  Fuss,  perhaps,  or 
Weeping  Beauty. 

^^This  idea  of  helpfulness  came  early  into  our  lives. 
We  learned  to  read  Dakota  in  order  to  help  with  the  sing- 
ing at  the  Indian  meetings,  and  dearly  we  loved  to  sing 
those  good  Dakota  hymns.  The  weekly  sewing  and  prayer- 
meetings  were  always  occasions  for  helping.  On  the  af- 
ternoon of  the  sewing  the  large  basket  was  brought  in 
with  rolls  of  patchwork  wrapped  each  in  its  strip  of 
white  cotton,  marked  with  such  high-sounding  names  as 
^  Scarlet  Cloud  woman,'  '  She  that  walks  singing,'  and  the 
like, — names  fit  for  princesses  of  the  blood,  as  many  of 
them  were.    To  Isabella  and  to  Martha  it  was  given  to 


16  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

pass  the  rolls,  the  needles  and  the  thread.  We  seldom 
in  those  days  saw  any  but  Indian  faces, — Indians  in  war 
paint  and  feathers  or  wrapped  in  Mackinac  blankets. 
Indian  children  had  been  taken  into  our  home,  and  others 
too  were  with  us  in  school.  From  such  associations  we 
naturally  acquired  something  of  physical  courage  and 
bravery.  Isabella  once  beheaded  a  pope, — Pope  John 
XXIII,  for  that  little  affair  of  his  with  John  Huss.  For 
the  matter  of  that  the  pope  was  only  a  curly  shaving,  and 
the  instrument  a  chisel,  but  the  result  was  disastrous  to 
her  forefinger. 

"  When  Miss  Lucy  Spooner  came  to  teach  in  our  mission 
school  she  captivated  all  hearts  by  her  gentle  and  win- 
ning personality.     She  seemed  to  bring  with  her  from 

*  the  States '  a  flavor  of  all  that  we  had  not ;  was  it  a 
matter  of  taste  in  dress  or  in  music,  or  how  to  ^  do ' 
one's  hair,  she  was  always  consulted.  We  loved  to  hear 
her  sing  and  to  sing  with  her,  and  she  it  was  who  gave  us 
our  first  real  training  in  music.  After  the  fire  she  returned 
to  her  home  in  Ohio,  and  became  Mrs.  Drake,  but  to  the 
children  of  her  adoption  her  latch-string  was  always  out, 
and  Isabella  often  spoke  of  her  as  her  ^  Ohio  mother.' 

**  The  third  of  March,  1854,  was  a  memorable  day  in  our 
family  history.     We  long  counted  from  *  before '   and 

*  after  the  fire '  as  did  the  Romans  from  the  building  of 
the  city.  A  pitiless  storm  was  blowing  from  out  the 
northwest  with  flurry  of  snow,  when  there  came  a  hurry 
call  for  the  boys  in  school  to  carry  water.  Our  house  was 
on  fire  !  Every  effort  proved  unavailing  ; — in  a  few  short 
hours  only  smoking  cellars  remained  of  all  that  had  been 
home.  Homeless  we  indeed  were,  but  the  old  adobe 
church  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  offered  us  shelter,  and  while 
little  had  been  saved  from  the  burning  house,  kind  In- 
dian friends  gave  out  of  their  scanty  store,  and  blankets 
were  sent  us  from  Mr.  M'Leod's  trading  post.     Smoky 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  17 

potatoes,  too,  had  been  taken  from  out  the  cellar,  and  in 
a  few  days  Dr.  Williamson  brought  us  good  cheer  and 
things  of  which  we  had  most  need.  The  summer  brought 
us  boxes  and  barrels  from  friends  in  the  East,  the  open- 
ing of  which  made  glad  the  hearts  of  the  elders  and  set 
the  children  all  a- tiptoe  of  joyful  expectation. 

''It  had  been  deemed  best  to  build  the  new  mission  sta- 
tion near  to  that  of  Dr.  Williamson's  at  Pajutazee,  and 
in  September  of  that  year,  with  mingled  feelings,  we  bade 
good-bye  to  Lacquiparle,  and  entered  upon  the  new  order 
of  things  at  Hazlewood.  Our  home  life  here  was  full  of 
changes,  the  family  much  broken.  Alfred,  his  mother's 
right  hand  man,  was  away  at  college.  The  older 
daughters,  to  the  mysteries  of  breadmaking,  dressmaking 
and  ironing  father's  shirts,  had  added  tailoring,  as  the 
many  coats  and  trousers  for  the  three  younger  brothers 
would  attest.  But  they  too  must  go  East  to  school, 
which  they  did  by  turns,  as  the  mother  could  ill  afford  to 
spare  both  Hapan  and  Kapstina  at  once. 

''Oh  !  the  going  to  and  coming  home  from  school,  the 
ever- to-be- remembered  journeys  to  and  from  the  Traverse, 
the  blessed  one  hundred  miles  that  separated  us  for  a  space 
from  our  busy  lives  ;  by  the  old  Indian  trail  outlined  in 
autumn  by  goldenrod  and  purpling  asters,  and  stretching 
away  and  beyond  to  the  edge  of  the  world  and  the  all-em- 
bracing sky  !  To  Isabella  this  journeying  was  a  joy  despite 
mosquitoes  and  the  wi-wi-sica  (bad  swamp).  It  was  a 
time  to  think,  to  dream,  and  sing  forgotten  songs,  or  per- 
haps to  make  new  friends  among  the  flower  folk.  Beck's 
botany  was  a  frequent  companion,  and  with  what  shining 
eyes  she  would  proclaim  some  new  flower  analyzed. 

"In  the  inheritance  of  these  years,  in  its  pleasures 
and  its  burdens,  Isabella  shared  an  elder  daughter's  part. 
Homely  duties  were  to  her  homely  in  the  truest  sense, 
and  a  matter  of  birthright.     When  floors  must  be  swept 


18  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

or  rooms  dusted,  there  was  singing  in  her  heart  j  when 
dishes  were  to  be  washed,  the  song  was  on  her  lips,  or 
here  she  led  the  full  chorus,  for  the  kitchen  was  a  merry 
place,  with  much  piping  of  small  voices  at  dishwashing 
time. 

' '  She  loved  music  and  flowers  and  books  always.  And 
if  she  had  little  time  to  give  to  her  loves,  they  were  the 
more  precious.  In  the  latter  years  at  home,  or  when  she 
taught  the  mission  school,  sometimes  both  time  and 
strength  were  taxed  to  the  utmost.  But  when  days'  tasks 
were  over,  and  snow-drifts  and  long  evenings  shut  one  in, 
what  fresh  worlds  to  explore  !  One  remembers  on  such 
a  winter's  night,  Isabella  curled  up  in  a  blanket  under 
the  bend  of  the  stovepipe,  her  bedtime  candle  beside  her, 
all  unconscious  of  the  growing  cold  or  the  lateness  of  the 
hour,  as  she  turned  the  pages  of  her  book.  Was  it  Mrs. 
Browning, — the  'blue  and  the  gold,'  or  Robert  Brown- 
ing's 'Lyrics  of  Life,'  a  recent  acquisition?  Or,  on 
some  happier  night  when,  listening  to  her  clear  voice, 
one  trailed  away  to  sleep  and  dreams, — was  it  waking  or 
dreaming  ? — '  I  will  give  you  this  leaf  to  keep  .  .  . 
you  will  remember  and  understand.' — Again  there  comes 
a  vision  of  her  as  a  happy  child  at  Lacquiparle,  coming 
from  out  the  woodsy  road  in  trailing  clouds  of  glory  and 
wild  clematis,  sweet  seriousness  and  round-eyed  wonder 
in  her  face ;  ever  like  the  Madonna  of  the  Stairs  with 
step  uplifted,  arrested  by  the  inner  voice. '^ 

Isabella's  first  letters  were  written  to  her  friend  Miss 
Lucy  Spooner,  who  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Drake. 

"3%e  Old  Church  J  Lacquiparle^  Minn.,  March  27,  1854.. 
"  Dear  Miss  Lucy  : 

"Oh,  I  think  that  you  would  like  to  have  been 
Jiere  this  afternoon!    Two  boxes  came  from  friends  at 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  19 

Traverse  des  Sioux,  Mr.  Kennedy  and  Mr.  McLeod. 
There  was  a  pair  of  boots  for  Thomas,  and  he  was  over- 
joyed at  the  sight  of  them.  Looking  at  their  gifts  made 
me  think  of  the  fire  more  than  usual.  I  am  glad  that  our 
friends  at  the  Traverse  send  us  their  sympathy,  which, 
by  the  way,  I  think  is  the  best  kind  of  ^  pathy  ^  there 
is.    .    .    ."' 

'^  On  the  Prairie,  June  22,  185 J^ 
^^  My  dearest  Miss  Lucy  : 

^'  I  wonder  where  you  are  now  while  I  am  writing, 
whether  you  are  at  the  Traverse  or  on  your  way  home. 
I  feel  sad  and  lonely  on  the  wide  prairie  without  you. 
We  have  been  playing  ^  Silent  Quaker  ^  all  the  way  up, 
and  have  often  gone  three  and  four  miles  without  speaking 
a  word.  I  was  thinking  of  the  past  in  respect  to  you.  It 
has  been  an  alternation  of  joy  and  sorrow,  and  I  think 
sometimes  that  I  should  like  to  live  it  once  again.  I  can- 
not do  that.  "We  will  all  have  to  learn  to  do  without 
you.  .  .  .  Still  as  long  as  any  of  our  family  live,  there 
will  be  a  place  in  our  family  circle  for  you. 

^'Tuesday  we  slept  at  the  Can-wan-ga-wanjidan,  and 
Wednesday  night  we  spent  at  a  place  five  miles  the  other 
side  of  the  Beaver  Eiver.  Before  we  reached  Cetanbe- 
wakpa  we  saw  in  a  little  swamp  lake  fifteen  swans,  young 
and  old.  Eight  of  them  came  out  of  the  lake  and  flew 
around  us,  darted  over  our  heads,  and  made  many  other 
evolutions  as  if  to  show  themselves.  A  few  miles  from 
there  we  came  to  a  swamp,  which  hindered  us  a  short 
time.  I  jumped  off  and  ran  over  and  left  the  others  to  get 
across  as  they  could,  while  I  sat  down  to  write  to  you. 
We  reached  camp  late  and  could  not  get  any  wood.  The 
mosquitoes  were  very  bad,  so  we  took  a  piece  of  cake  and 

'  This  letter  was  written  on  blue  paper,  the  edges  of  which  show  the 
marks  of  the  fire  she  mentions  above. 


20  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

went  to  bed.  The  next  morning  we  started  at  four  and 
drove  on  till  six,  when  we  stopped  and  had  breakfast  at 
Mazawakan,  four  miles  from  home.  Oh,  if  you  were  only 
there  to  welcome  me  !  We  got  over  the  river  safely,  al- 
though it  has  risen  a  great  deal.  Papa  and  Mi*.  Brant 
carried  over  all  that  they  could  on  horseback.  I  rode 
over  in  the  wagon  ;  the  wat^r  almost  filled  the  bed." 

*  ^  Home  J  June  27th, 
*^Deae  Miss  Lucy: 

*'I  hope  you  will  soon  be  at  home.  And  when 
you  are  there,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  loved  and  loving 
friends  and  relatives,  don't  forget  me.  Then  ^a  place  in 
thy  memory,  dearest,  is  all  that  I  claim.'  Your  parting 
words  are  sweetly  sounding  in  my  ear.  How  I  have 
longed  to  love  and  be  loved.  And  those  few  sweet  words, 
*I  do  love  you,  Isabella,'  often  start  the  tears,  and  carry 
me  back  to  the  days  when  you  were  with  us,  past  now 
forever." 

*^  Hazelwood,  Aj^ril  9,  1855, 
^^  Dear  Miss  Spoonee  : 

"After  a  long  silence  on  my  part,  I  have  seated 
myself  at  one  corner  of  our  table  with  the  intent  of 
addressing  my  dear  teacher  once  more.  Shall  I  tell  you 
first  that  I  miss  you  more  than  ever  ?  That  in  my  day- 
dreams the  hope  is  first  that  I  may  see  your  face  and  hear 
your  voice  again  ?  .  .  .  I  wish  to  see  you  more  than 
ever,  because  I  need  a  counsellor.  It  seems  to  me  that  I 
have  a  more  difficult  position  than  ever  before.  My 
mother  is  not  very  well  just  now.  She  has  more  to  do 
and  to  bear  than  she  is  able  for.  I  try  to  help  her,  but 
daily  and  hourly  I  feel  how  far  short  my  endeavors  fall 
from  their  mark.  Oh,  Miss  Spooner,  I  often  feel  that  it  is 
no  use  to  try !    Methinks  I  hear  you  now  saying,  ^  Look 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  21 

up  !  Look  up  for  aid.'     Will  you  remember  me  evening 
and  morning  f     Oh,  will  you  not  ?    .     .     . 

"  Yours  ever  affectionately, 

"Isabella  B.  Eiggs.'* 

"  Kazelwood,  Minn.,  April  21, 1855. 
"  Dear  Miss  Spoonee  : 

".  .  .  Do  you  read  ffarper^s?  There  is  an 
exceedingly  thrilling  account  of  the  Darien  Expedition  in 
it  which  will  be  closed  in  the  May  number.  Papa  is  read- 
ing it  to  mamma  now,  and  it  is  so  interesting  I  can  hardly 
write.  You  will  never  forget  the  month  of  March,  1854. 
But  that  exploring  party  endured  more,  far  more  than  we 
did.    Oh,  never  did  I  feel  how  great  our  mercies  were  then ! 

"  I  am  an  inch  taller  than  when  you  saw  me  last.  And 
oh.  Miss  Spooner,  I  have  learned  the  table  of  Long  Meas- 
ure this  winter  !  Now  that  school  has  stopped,  mamma 
is  going  to  have  Huldah  and  myself  teach  the  younger 
children  by  turns." 

''April  201. 

"I  commenced  school  to-day, — kept  it  from  half- 
past  one  to  half-past  three.  It  is  quite  strange  to  me, 
and  some  of  the  children  seem  to  think  it  so  also.  Ange- 
lique  put  a  violet  behind  each  ear,  in  my  braids,  to  do 
honour  to  Isabella,  the  new  schoolmistress!  We  girls 
have  earned  our  ten  dollars  for  the  melodeon  and  father 
has  ordered  it  from  St.  Paul.  ...  I  must  say  good- 
night. I  am  your  affectionate  pupil, 

"Isabella." 

''Hazel  Home,  May  9,  1855. 
"The  carrier  arrived  yesterday,  and  I  received  your 
welcome  letter  of  April  eighteenth.  I  was  teaching  at 
the  time,  and  it  was  hard  for  me  to  go  on  with  the  usual 
exercises  while  the  others  were  feasting  on  the  newly  ar- 
rived '  mental  food.' 


22  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'^  Oh,  Miss  Spooner,  mamma  wishes  me  to  say  this, — 
she  wauts  to  know  whether  there  are  any  new  modes  for 
girls  of  thirteen  and  fifteen  to  wear  their  hair?  She  is  so 
tired  of  having  Martha's  hair  dangling  in  the  way.  I  am 
not  tired  of  the  way  I  wear  my  hair,  but  if  there  is  a  pret- 
tier style  in  vogue,  I  might  like  the  change. 

"  I  wrote  you  in  my  last  letter  that  I  felt  that  I  had  a 
position  full  of  trials.  I  have  thought  since  that  my  com- 
plaint should  never  have  been  put  on  paper, — that  I  and 
all  others,  too,  ought  to  bear  our  sorrows  ourselves. 
.  .  .  It  is  so  hard  to  do  right.  Miss  Spooner,  will 
you  not  pray  for  me  f  Yours  as  ever, 

"LB.  E.^^ 

^^  Hazelwoodj  I^ov.  15 j  1855. 
*'  Dear  Miss  Lucy  : 

"  How  are  you  and  all  your  loved  ones  this  even- 
ing ?  I  picture  you  as  seated  at  the  piano,  playing  ^  Look 
Aloft, ^  *  Beautiful  Isle,'  '  Old  Kentucky  Home,'  or  it  may 
be  you  are  entrancing  your  listeners  with  '  The  Old 
Folks  at  Home.'  I  have  a  class  in  vocal  music  now, 
— Huldah,  Anna  Jane,  Angelique,  Smith  and  Martha 
Williamson.  We  have  recitations  twice  a  week.  The 
book  we  use  is  '  The  Young  Choir's  Companion.'  " 

In  the  fall  of  1856,  Isabella,  then  sixteen  years  old,  made 
the  long  journey  from  Minnesota  to  Ohio,  and  entered 
the  Western  Female  Seminary  in  Oxford,  Ohio.  Her 
mother  had  been  a  pupil  of  Mary  Lyon,  and  rejoiced  that 
as  far  west  as  Ohio  could  be  found  a  school  which  was  an 
off-shoot  of  Mt.  Holyoke. 

**  Western  Female  Seminary ,  Oxford,  Ohio,  Oct.  22,  1856. 
"  My  dear  Mrs.  Drake  : 

"  I  have  written  once  to  ^  Home  Hazel  wood '  and 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  23 

once  to  Alfred,  and  my  third  letter  shall  be  to  my  dear, 
kind,  Ohio  mother.  .  .  .  Phebe  and  I  get  very  home- 
sick sometimes.  Though  I  am  very  much  pleased  with 
the  school,  with  the  teachers  and  girls,  and  am  very  well 
contented,  yet  the  time  since  I  left  home  seems  like 
ages.  I  go  down  to  Lalla  Scott^s  room  sometimes  to  hear 
her  say  ^  baby  ^  !  It  reminds  me  of  home.  Mamma 
sent  me  a  golden  lock  of  Robin's  hair  last  week  in  her 
letter. 

*•'  I  am  writing  miserably,  but  I  have  mislaid  my  own 
pen,  and  am  using  my  lap  for  a  table.  Added  to  this  I  am 
as  sleepy  as  I  can  be.  With  all  these  excuses  combined, 
I  think  even  Miss  Utley  would  be  obliged  to  say  ^  You 
are  excused.'  It  does  seem  odd  to  me  to  have  everything 
almost  that  can  be  thought  of,  considered  a  ^  crime.'  But 
all  the  regulations  are  very  good  but  one,  which  I  think 
very  ridiculous.  Every  one  receiving  eatables  from  home 
must  get  excused  for  it,  or  have  it  put  down  against  her. 
No  danger  of  my  getting  anything  from  home,  either 
potatoes,  pemmican  or  buffalo  meat,  but  if  I  could,  I 
would  not  get  ^  excused '  for  it  at  all. 

"  You  asked  if  we  had  any  politicians  in  school.  I 
guess  we  have  !  I  took  the  vote  of  about  three-fourths  of 
the  school  the  other  day.  Every  teacher  stands  on  the 
right  side,  namely  for  Fremont, — and  a  hundred  scholars, 
to  sixteen  for  Buchanan  and  twenty-two  for  Fillmore. 
.  .  .  The  fifteen  minute  bell  has  rung,  and  I  must 
have  my  letter  down  in  the  hall. 

"Your  affectionate, 
"Isabella." 

"  January  27,  1857. 
".     .     .     This    afternoon,   Mr.    Rice,  of   whom  you 
have  heard,  no  doubt,  was  in  our  sections  to  hear  our 
compositions.     It  was  my  turn  to  read,  and  you  can  imag- 


24  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ine  how  I  blushed.  The  tears  came  before  I  got  through. 
I  could  not  help  it,  but  I  read  very  bravely,  considering 
all  things.  But  '  enough  of  this  ^  as  my  Cousin  Twenty- 
one  has  it. 

*'  I  expect  you  would  like  my  opinion  of  my  progress  in 
music.  Well,  I  do  believe  I  am  a  perfect  blockhead  in 
music,  and  so  you  have  my  estimate  of  my  talents  (?)  and 
Miss  McKeen's  too,  I  have  no  doubt. 

"I  had  a  letter  from  home  Wednesday.  Papa  wrote 
that  he  was  sending  the  *  Pilgrim's  Progress'  in  Dakota 
off  to  New  York,  and  that  he  had  commenced  a  series  of 
Indian  letters  for  the  St.  Peter  paper.  The  first  was  on 
*  Sleepy  Eyes.' 

"But  one  thing  more.  You  remember,  do  you  not, 
that  I  wrote  you  from  home  once  that  I  hoped  I  was  a 
Christian  ?  And  you  know  the  rest.  I  have  been  long- 
ing to  tell  you  that  I  hope  I  am  indeed  a  Christian 
now. 

"Yours  ever  most  affectionately, 
"L  B.  RiGGS.'^ 

"  Western  Female  Seminary ,  Oct.  13 ,  1857. 
"  .  .  .  Tuesday  night,  and  we  have  just  this  after- 
noon learned  our  destinies  for  the  rest  of  the  term.  I 
am  to  room  with  Nancy  Williamson  and  Mary  Woodbury 
on  the  first  floor.  You  cannot  imagine  how  eagerly  we 
listened  as  one  room  after  another  was  read  off  with  its 
occupants.  Some  cried  right  then  and  there,  but  the 
most  of  us  laughed,  so  that  altogether  we  had  a  strange 
time  of  it !  I  like  our  room  just  tolerably.  It  has  three 
great  windows  and  a  very  nice  *  cub '  (closet).  You  see 
I  stand  up  for  seminary  words  and  expressions !  I  was 
telling  Nancy  what  a  musical  word  *  cubby '  was,  and  she 
thought  it  equalled  *  alligator,'  Antoine  Eenville's  choice 
in  the  whole  of  the  English  language." 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  25 

"  December  29th. 
*^I  bad  letters  from  home  to-night.  Mamma  speaks 
of  the  school  exhibition.  Martha,  Anna  and  Ange- 
lique  read  compositions ;  the  rest  spoke  pieces.  Mar- 
tha^ s  composition  was  on  '  The  Old  Home  at  Lacquiparle.' 
Mamma  said  it  brought  the  tears  to  her  eyes.  Anna  Jane 
wrote  on  ^The  Sunset/  and  Angelique  on  *  Winter.' 
Wouldn't  you  love  dearly  to  have  heard  themi    .     .    /' 


**  Western  Female  Seminary^  Fifth  Story,  In  Cloud  Land,  \ 

Jjpril  15,  1858.  ] 
"  You  see  that  I  am  at  last  an  occupant  of  the  ^  upper 
regions.'  Mary  and  Edith  are  my  neighbours  on  a  ^  cross 
street.'  Jennie  Chapman  and  I  are  so  disappointed  that 
we  are  not  to  room  together.  Three  lines  of  the  strange 
chorus  of  an  old  song  have  been  in  my  mind  all  day  : 


"  *  Up  he  rose  red  in  the  morning, 
Scattering  the  blackness  away, 
But  I,  poor  heart,  fell  a-weeping. ' 

I  havenH  yet,  but  it  was  rather  hard  work  to  move  when 
I  had  the  heart-ache,  headache  and  toothache  forsooth! 
I  have  a  good  constitution,  however,  and  can  work  it  off ! 
^^  One  thing  more.  You  have  been  so  very  kind  to  me 
in  vacation, — indeed  in  all  the  vacations, — that  I  must 
thank  you, — I  do  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. 
Mamma  would  thank  you  too,  if  she  knew  how  well  you 
took  her  place,  or  rather  the  place  of  an  older  sister." 

Isabella  had  been  away  from  home  for  two  years 
now.  A  letter  written  in  June,  1858,  from  Galesburg, 
Illinois,  tells  of  commencement  day  at  Knox  College, 
when  she  saw  her  brother  Alfred  graduate.     With  sisterly 


26  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

pride  she  wrote,  "  Alfred^ s  essay  on  'The  Spirit  of  Bud- 
dhism^ was  of  course  the  best  of  all."  Together  they 
made  the  journey  to  the  home  in  Minnesota. 

' '  On  the  Mississippi  once  more, 
" .  .  .  I  am  very  tired  with  the  journey  and 
the  round  of  commencement  festivities  before  we  left 
Galesburg.  Although  I  enjoyed  yesterday^ s  journey 
very  much  because  Alfred  was  with  me,  yet  it  has  nearly 
finished  me  up  !  I  shall  revive,  however,  when  we  reach 
Traverse  des  Sioux,  and  meet  my  own,  dear  father.  Oh, 
how  glad  I  shall  be  !  Our  boat  is  the  Galena^  a  very  good 
one,  though  not  handsome.     .     .     .^' 

**  Hazelwoodj  Minn.,  July  16,  1858. 

" .  .  .  You  have  heard  of  the  disaster  of  the 
Galena^  no  doubt.  If  I  had  one  of  the  St.  Paul  papers  I 
would  send  it  on.  As  the  boat  caught  fire  at  midnight, 
the  ladies  and  some  of  the  gentlemen  made  rather  a  sorry 
spectacle.  White  was  all  the  style.  One  lady  had,  in 
addition  to  a  chemise,  nothing  but  a  skeleton  skirt.  She 
and  her  husband  certainly  made  a  show,  as  he  led  her  off 
the  boat,  for  he  wore  nothing  but  a  hat  and  shirt.  You 
see  we  were  not  waked  until  the  boat  landed,  and  then 
there  was  no  time  to  dress.  Indeed  there  was  but  time  to 
get  on  shore,  for  the  fire  had  made  considerable  headway 
before  it  was  discovered.  There  was  no  smoke  in  the 
cabin,  as  a  draught  of  air  carried  it  away,  so  that  all 
might  have  been  saved.  Why  they  were  not,  no  one 
knows.  Perhaps  they  were  drowned  in  attempting  to 
escape.  There  were  seven  lost ;  a  mother  and  her  three 
children  among  them.  They  were  expecting  to  meet  the 
father  at  Mankato. 

"Very  few  of  the  passengers  saved  any  baggage.  Al- 
fred and  I  lost  all.  My  loss  I  feel  less  than  I  do  Alfred's, 
as  all  his  college  text-books  are  gone.     Still  we  cannot 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  27 

but  think  of  how  it  might  have  been,  and  the  books  and 
all  seem  a  very  little  thing.  We  will  both  have  to  go  to 
work  now.     Probably  it  will  be  better  for  us. 

"  I  have  been  at  home  a  week  now,  and  everything 
seems  perfectly  natural  again.  We  have  just  the  same 
chairs,  tables,  cooking  utensils  and  so  forth  which  we  had 
before  I  went  away.  Every  day  I  make  acquaintance 
with  some  old  friend.  Eobbie,  however,  is  quite  another 
being  from  the  baby  I  used  to  pet.  His  accomplishments 
of  walking,  running  and  talking  quite  took  me  by  sur- 
prise, for  though  I  knew  it  all  before  by  heart,  it  seemed 
strange  to  find  him  actually  doing  such  things.  And  we 
have  something  else  new  and  growing.  Father  has  set 
out  one  hundred  and  fifty  young  trees,  so  that  when  we 
children  are  grave,  elderly  people,  this  will  be  rather  a 
venerable  residence,  with  great  trees  all  about  it. 

"Anna  went  down  with  papa  to  the  Traverse  to  meet 
us.  When  we  came  up,  as  we  had  no  tent,  Anna  and  I 
fastened  our  mosquito  bar  up  under  the  wagon  at  night. 
Somehow  we  fixed  it  so  as  to  let  in  all  the  mosquitoes  who 
chose  to  come  in,  and  in  consequence  had  a  night  of  it ! 
We  were  wonderfully  glad  when  morning  came,  for 
though  we  apparently  met  the  assaults  of  the  enemy  with 
stoical  indifference,  yet  at  heart  neither  Anna  nor  I  was 
very  patient.  The  mosquitoes  were  so  thick  that  we 
could  not  eat,  even  in  the  smoke,  so  we  started  on  with- 
out breakfast. 

'^The  Hazel  wood  Female  Boarding  School  now  com- 
prises four  boys  !  Alfred  and  I  have  talked  of  commenc- 
ing a  Young  Ladies'  Boarding  School  at  the  Traverse. 
Papa  would  let  us  have  a  lot  or  so,  and  we  can  get 
a  cloth  tent  to  commence  operations  in.  Of  course  we 
would  teach  none  but  the  higher  branches,  such  as  the 
alphabet,  McGufiey  on  Eeading,  Cobb  on  Spelling,  and 
the  languages.     Don't  you  think  it  a  good  idea  f  '^ 


28  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^  August  21,  1858, 
'*We  have  been  very  busy,  all  of  us,  since  I  came 
home.  Alfred  is  building  a  house  for  John  Baptiste  Een- 
ville.  Martha  and  I  have  been  sewing,  of  course,  but  as 
I  read  not  long  ago  that  the  great  end  of  life  is  to  be  of 
use,  perhaps  it  is  as  well  to  be  of  use  sewing,  as  any  other 
way !  It  is  easier  far  to  be  of  use  actively  than  passively. 
But  whether  the  strong  and  well  are,  after  all,  as  nobly  of 
use  as  the  feeble  and  sick,  God  knows.  I  feel  that  those 
who  go  to  heaven  through  sickness  and  suffering  long  and 
patiently,  will  have  the  brighter  crowns.  I  am  thinking 
of  a  young  girl  I  met  at  Galesburg,  who  is  confined  to 
her  bed  for  life.  She  is  not  so  old  as  I.  I  think  I  learned 
a  lesson  from  her  patience.  To  me  she  seems  to  be  of 
use  in  as  real  a  sense  as  any  one  can  be.    .     .     .^' 

^^Fajutazeey  Hazelwood,  Feb.  25,  1859, 
"I  shall  begin  with  the  most  important  news,  the 
arrival  of  our  little  Octavia,  as  papa  calls  her.  She  is  a 
brown  little  thing,  with  dark,  curling  hair.  Thus  far  she 
has  been  a  good  little  babe,  and  while  mamma  is  growing 
strong,  is  my  charge. 

^  ^  We  had  company  at  dinner  yesterday — Indian  girls. 
They  came  upon  us  right  in  the  midst  of  our  washing. 
We  had  a  large  washing  and  considerable  to  do  besides 
that,  so  I  hardly  knew  how  to  entertain  them  at  all.  But 
when  we  had  chatted  a  little  while  I  gave  them  up  to  Al- 
fred. The  mail  had  come  and  he  was  enjoying  his  half 
dozen  of  letters  wonderfully,  but  he  took  pity  on  me,  and 
made  himself  so  agreeable  that  I  wasnH  missed  at  all.  He 
played  for  them,  sang  with  them,  and  had  just  finished 
showing  off  the  sewing-machine  to  them  by  the  time  the 
washing  was  done,  and  we  had  put  dinner  on  the  table. 
"Alfred  is  busy  studying  and  teaching  school.  He 
teaches  in  the  evening,  and  spends  his  mornings  studying 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  29 

Hebrew  and  Thorough  Bass.  Anna  is  trying  to  teach 
Robbie  his  alphabet.  He  is  nearly  four  years  old,  and 
we  are  beginning  to  think  it  time  for  him  to  commence. 
Just  now  he  is  in  a  great  fever  to  have  spring  come.  He 
asks  a  dozen  times  a  day,  ^  When  will  spring  come  f '  or 
*  Will  it  come  when  the  dark  goes  away  1  ^  meaning  the 
next  morning.     .     .     ." 

The  winter  of  1859-60  Isabella  spent  at  home  teach- 
ing school  and  sewing,  so  that  she  might  earn  the  neces- 
sary means  to  finish  her  course  at  Oxford.  Although  Dr. 
and  Mxs.  Riggs  began  their  missionary  work  among  the 
Dakotas  at  a  time  when  the  Board  was  cutting  down  its 
appropriations  and  could  only  give  a  salary  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  and  although  at  this  time  when  the 
family  numbered  eight,  the  salary  had  only  been  increased 
to  five  hundred  dollars,  yet  it  was  the  aim  of  the  father 
and  mother  that  each  one  of  the  eight  children  should  re- 
ceive the  best  possible  education,  and  through  sacrifice, 
work  and  prayer  and  the  help  of  friends,  this  was  accom- 
plished. Isabella  had  spent  two  years  at  Oxford  ;  now  it 
was  her  sister  Martha's  turn.  Alfred  was  in  Chicago, 
beginning  his  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  and 
it  is  to  him  that  the  next  group  of  letters  is  written. 

^^Pajutazu,  Dec.  13 j  1859, 
^^  My  Dear  Alfred  : 

**  Your  letter  to  me  came  the  day  after  your  twenty- 
second  birthday,  and  I  am  grateful  too  for  the  copies  of 
the  Century  and  the  Harper^  s  WeeJcly.  Martha  William- 
son and  I  are  reading  ^  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities,'  which  is 
published  in  Mr.  McCullugh's  paper,  the  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post  J  and  we  both  (silly  girls,  I  suppose)  are  looking 
forward  eagerly  to  see  how  Dickens  manages  to  save  Car- 
ton from  ^  La  Sainte  Guillotine.' 


30  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  Well,  I  intended  to  tell  you  something  of  last  week's 
history.  Monday,  Mrs.  Kinihanpi  fell  into  the  cistern, 
and  burnt  her  hand, — (I  don't  mean  that  she  burnt  her 
hand  in  the  cistern !)  so  the  next  day  I  went  down  to 
condole  with  her  and  offer  my  services.  .  .  .  Then 
we  had  a  quilting  bee.  The  whole  town  was  invited. 
The  small  fry  sewed  on  a  numberless  amount  of  aprons, 
while  we  quilted  and  sewed  and  talked  till  dark.  .  .  . 
I  am  so  glad  about  your  Shakespeare.  To  have  White's 
Shakespeare,  and  time  to  read  it,  is  one  of  the  utmost 
dreams  of  my  ambition,  and  now  that  you  have  it,  per- 
haps I  may.  I  have  seen  a  remark  often  quoted .  about 
women  always  ^  falling  into  raptures  over  Shakespeare  be- 
cause it  is  fashionable,  not  because  they  know  anything 
about  it.'  So  I  seldom  say  anything  about  caring  to  read 
it,  although  since  I  found  in  some  old  reader, — 

"  'How  sweet  the  moonlight  sleeps  upon  this  bank* 
Here  will  we  sit  and  let  the  strains  of  music 
Sweep  in  our  ears, ' — 

I  have  wanted  to  read  the  whole  of  the  drama  from  which 
those  lines  were  taken.  Now  you  had  better  not  turn  to 
the  passage  I  tried  to  quote,  or  you  will,  like  all  true 
Shakespeare  lovers,  be  shocked  at  my  mutilation  of  the 
text. 

**  I  am  prospering  finely  in  my  money  matters,  and  have 
a  little  store  of  fifty  dollars  laid  away  for  the  morrow.  I 
hope  it  will  be  one  hundred  dollars  before  that  morrow 
comes.  I  have  done  considerable  sewing.  We  think  of 
putting  up  our  sign,  ^  Hazel  wood  Hotel,' — S.  R.  Riggs 
and  a  dish  of  mush  on  one  side,  and  my  special  card  on 
the  other, — *  Miss  Riggs,  Dressmaker,  Milliner,  Tailoress 
and  Common  Seamstress.'  When  we  get  it  up,  and  my 
customers  begin  to  come  in,  you'll  see  if  I  don't  give  the 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  31 

ladies  fits  !    Mamma  says  I  haven^t  brass  enough,  but  I 
tell  her  time  will  bring  that. 

"Baby  is  getting  more  and  more  wonderful,  of  course. 
Anna  Jane  has  perhaps  told  you  of  her  three  teeth  and 
her  feats  in  the  way  of  standing  alone,  and  all  her  cun- 
ning ways.  If  she  hasn^t  tormented  you  with  it,  you  will 
be  twice  thankful  if  I  don't  do  it  either!  .  .  .  Good- 
night. Isabella." 

^^  February  23,  1860, 
"The  mail  came  last  night,  bringing  the  music  you  sent 
us,  and  I  tried  all  the  pieces  with  great  delight,  es- 
pecially the  songs.  We  had  a  good  laugh  all  around 
about  your  Indian  song  singing.  Papa  and  mamma 
thought  it  a  little  too  big  a  dose  of  ^  Indian  pills '  for  the 
fair  Misses  Smith,  Jones,  and  so  forth  of  the  dty  to  hear 
the  war-whoop  in  a  parlor.  I  should  have  been  delighted 
to  see  the  scare.  It  would  have  been  funnier  than  the 
effect  my  snake  stories  used  to  have  on  some  of  our  Oxford 
girls.  Why  didn't  your  Sabbath-school  class  ask  you  to 
sing  during  the  morning  exercises  ?  You  could  have  edi- 
fied them  with  'The  Pretty  Finger  Eing,'  or  'Go  Tell 
Your  Grandmother  You're  Slow  ! ' 

"You  ask  me  about  my  school.  I  am  getting  along  as 
as  well  as  I  expected.  Pretty  hard  work  for  me,  though. 
We  don't  get  much  sewing  done,  and  sewing,  you  know, 
seems  to  be  our  '  chief  end.'  I  am  still  teaching  Dakota 
in  the  afternoon,  and  have  piloted  Agnes,  David  and 
Thomas  Simon  through  Cante  Teca's  journey  as  far  as  the 
Wicket  Gate.  The  smaller  fry  have  read  the  '  Dakota 
Tawaonspe,  Wowapi  I,'  but  haven't  the  vowel  sounds 
fairly  drilled  into  them  yet.  They  can  spell  off  the  books 
*  like  lightling, '  as  Eobbie  says,  but  if  I  have  them  read 
their  spelling  lessons,  they  can  hardly  do  it. 

"How  does  'The  Woman  in  White'  progress?    And 


32  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*  Trumps'  ?  The  artist  for  ^  Trumps'  doesn't  know  how 
to  make  a  handsome  man.  The  ladies  look  very  well, 
but  the  men  are  soft-soapy.  Papa  suggested  to  you  not 
to  send  Harper^ s  Weekly?—!  suppose  it  is  best,  but  I  was 
so  much  interested  in  Wilkie  Collins'  story  that  I  would 
rather  read  it  than  Harper's  Monthly,  Papa  read  in  the 
February  number  Thackeray's  comparison  of  novels  to 
candies,  saying  that  *  a  taste  not  vitiated,  liked  neither.' 
So  papa  read  the  first  chapter  of  ^Lovell  the  Widower,' 
but  said  then  that  he  hoped  his  taste  would  never  be  viti- 
ated enough  to  like  that  stuff." 

^' May  12,  1860. 

^'  I  have  been  meaning  to  thank  you  for  your  proposed 
capture  of  seminaries  for  Anna  and  me.  We  are  still 
discussing  plans  for  next  year.  If  the  Western  Female 
Seminary  should  not  be  rebuilt  early  enough  in  the  fall  to 
graduate  a  class,  Anna  and  I  will  go  to  the  Lake  Erie 
Seminary,  which  is  Mt.  Holyoke  Number  Three.  There 
will  be  some  pleasant  novelty  in  going  to  a  new  place, 
even  if  the  schools  are  peas  out  of  the  same  pod. 

*'  I  should  like  nothing  better  than  to  be  in  Chicago  at 
the  time  of  the  Musical  Institute.  Oh,  if  I  could  !  I  can 
promise  you  I'll  thhik  of  it  enough  ! 

*'A  week  ago  Mrs.  Ackley  and  I  went  down  to  the 
Agency  to  call,  taking  Thomas  as  gallant.  We  called 
everywhere  ;  stayed  as  long  as  we  wanted  to  at  everybody's, 
went  over  to  Myrick's  and  bought  a  dress,  and  wound  up 
by  calling  on  Mrs.  Other  Day.  The  shopping  did  not 
take  long,  as  there  was  but  one  piece  of  anything  but  In- 
dian goods  in  the  store  ! " 

'^  May  22,  1860. 
".     .     .     Has  any  one  told  you  about  the  storm  we  had 
a  week  ago  ?    Just  at  nightfall,  in  a  moment  of  time,  it 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  33 

came  on.  The  noise  was  deafening,  and  the  water  beat  in 
on  all  sides  through  panes  broken  by  the  hail.  I 
was  fairly  dazed  as  I  tried  to  wipe  up  the  streams  in  the 
library  chamber.  Then  I  ran  down  to  find  the  chicken 
coops  flying.  'In  a  jiffin'  as  papa  used  to  say,  Anna 
Jane  and  the  boys  were  through  the  kitchen  window, 
putting  the  coops  in  as  fast  as  possible,  and  gathering  up 
the  poor,  stray  chickens.  We  hurried  up-stairs  and  found 
our  beds  soaked,  and  the  floor  full  of  mud  and  water. 
We  shovelled  and  wiped  up  panful  after  panful.  Then 
the  children  went  to  bed,  and  mamma  and  I  made  fires  in 
the  stoves  to  keep  them  from  rusting.  Mamma  had  to 
bail  out  the  water  first,  and  it  was  no  small  task.  We 
could  hear  the  water  in  the  carpets  as  we  trod  over  them. 
So  we  took  up  the  one  in  the  sitting-room,  and  hung  it 
over  chairs  to  drain.  While  we  were  at  work,  the  chick- 
ens had  set  up  the  prettiest  chirping  in  the  world, — not 
like  their  hungry  chirp,  but  like  bird  chittering.  For  a 
few  minutes  I  really  thought  the  birds  were  singing  out  of 
doors.     .     .     . 

*'Do  not  be  troubled  about  my  getting  along  at  school 
next  year.  Some  way  will  open  when  the  time  comes. 
I  have  no  possible  need  of  money  now,  having  food 
to  eat,  clothes  to  wear,  and  books  to  read.  Trees,  flowers 
and  grass  to  look  at,  too.  Also  something  yet  to  give  at 
Monthly  Concerts,  and  ^  my  wants  are  all  supplied.'  So 
you  see  I  am  pretty  well  contented.  I  do  get  tired  once 
in  a  while  of  staying  here,  but  I  should  probably  be 
equally  tired  anywhere  else.    .     .     ." 

^^  July  31,  1860, 

".     .     .     I  like  the  arrangement    of  the    tunes  you 

sent,  especially  that  of  *  Oomahoo.'     The  tune  used  to  be 

a  favorite  a  long  time  ago,  when  I  thought  the  Dakota 

meeting  as  long  as  a  week  of  play-days,  and  waited  for 


34  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

preaching  to  be  over,  till  I  was  so  tired.  I  liked  to  sing 
though.  That  was  the  gay  time  when  I  took  pins  to 
meeting  to  play  with.  Mamma  was  sure  to  see  me  as 
soon  as  I  got  the  pins  nicely  fixed  in  the  squares  of  my 
little  green  shawl.  One  pin  was  Martha,  one  was  Anna 
Jane,  one  was  I.  The  squares  were  our  gardens,  and  as 
soon  as  we  pin-folk  got  fairly  to  visiting  around,  mamma 
was  sure  to  see,  and  poor  I  had  to  lose  all  my  dear  pins 
and  go  to  listening  to  the  sermon,  to  see  if  I  could  hear 
*  waste '  or  '  sica '  before  it  was  through.  That  dear  old 
green  shawl, — first  mine,,  then  Martha's,  finally  Anna 
Jane's,   and  doubtless  Cornelia  would    have   been  the 

happy  possessor  of  it,  if .   Martha  and  I  were  wiser 

when  a  little  older  and  only  took  two  pins  at  a  time,  one 
a  shawl  pin,  the  other  to  write  words  with  and  draw 
houses  and  girls  with  on  the  benches.  What  a  string  of 
childish  doings  that  tune  ^Oomahoo'  has  drawn  after 
it  I'' 

"  Oxford,  Ohio,  Oct,  15,  1860. 
"Dear  Alfred  : 

*'Here  I  am,  safe  and  sound,  but  with  a  pair  of 
aching  eyes  that  say  I  mustn't  write  a  word  to-night.  I 
don't  mean  to  mind  them,  for  to-morrow  I  shall  have  to 
commence  school  life  again,  and  pitch  into  Paley  and 
Trigonometry  like  a  good  child.  So  your  note  must 
be  written  now. 

"  Our  class  numbers  twelve  only,  all  strangers  to  me 
but  three.  Miss  McCabe's  was  the  only  familiar 
fiace  I  saw  at  first.  She  gave  me  a  very  pleasant 
welcome,  as  also  have  the  girls.  My  roommate  is  a 
Miss  Diament.  I  am  sorry  the  school  is  so  small.  A 
school  of  an  hundred  and  fifty  girls  has  all  sorts  and 
shades  of  character,  and  one  can  find  plenty  of  company 
to  suit." 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  35 

*'  October  16th. 

**  We  don't  have  any  rules  here,  positively  nothing  to 
compare  with  what  we  used  to  have, — don't  have  to  get 
up  in  the  morning  till  breakfast,  nor  speak  in  a  whisper 
in  the  halls,  nor  any  of  the  forty  other  rules  we  had. 

"  Our  class  is  studying  Paley,  Trigonometry  and  Schle- 
gel's  Lectures  on  the  History  of  Literature.  I  have  been 
very  diligently  studying  the  first  pages  of  my  Trigonom- 
etry till  *•  Logarithms '  looks  about  as  definite  and  sen- 
sible a  word  as  ^my  granny's  nightcap'  would  in  the 
same  connection.  My  head  is  whirling  to  the  tune  of 
D.  F.  sine  C.  F.  cosine." 

^^  Later, 
"Just  through  the  hour  for  Trigonometry.  Professor 
McFarland  says  he  is  afraid  I've  come  in  ^not  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  but  at  half-past  eleven.'  While  I  have 
been  with  you  in  Chicago  at  the  Musical  Institute,  the 
girls  have  nearly  finished  Plane  Trigonometry.  But  I 
don't  regret  it.  See  if  I  don't  catch  up  in  a  week,  my 
good  Prof. !" 

^^ November  6,  1860. 
"I  want  to  announce  that  I  have  caught  up  in  Trigo- 
nometry !  We  have  finished  Plane  and  Spherical,  and 
are  going  on  to  something  else.  We  have  studied  Logic 
a  week.  I  was  sure  I  shouldn't  like  it,  and  the  first 
chapters  took  me  quite  by  surprise.  We  all  liked  them. 
But  now  we're  approaching  the  barbarous  Barbara  Cele- 
rent  Camestris  and  sich  like,  I  dare  say  we  won't  get 
our  lessons,  and  then  of  course  it  will  be, — 'That  horrid 
old  Logic,  I  can't  &mr  it ! '     .     .     ." 

^^  December  20 J  1860. 
"So  many  things  have  happened  since  I  wrote  you 
last,  that  I  am  fairly  bewildered  with  the  idea  of  giving 


36  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

you  a  *  true  and  faithful '  history  of  these  momentous 
events.  Think  of  it !  We,  the  young  ladies  of  the  West- 
ern Female  Seminary,  have  had  the  unparalleled  felicity 
of  mingling  with  the  world, — which  means  getting  ac- 
quainted with  the  townspeople  and  the  students.  First 
came  the  sewing  society,  and  then  the  two  evenings  of  the 
fair  for  the  building  of  the  new  seminary.  We  supposed 
that  would  wind  up  our  worldly  affairs,  but  here  came 
invitations  from  our  Miami  friends  to  the  performances 
of  the  Miami  Union  Literary  Society  and  the  Erodel- 
phian,  and  we  were  given  permission  to  go  ! 

*^I  never  had  a  letter  in  my  life  which  did  me  more 
good  than  your  last.  I  had  been  quite  down-hearted  over 
an  accumulation  of  woes, — my  fourth  wisdom  tooth 
among  them.  Then  I  naturally  got  blue  when  I  found 
that  I  had  to  pay  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars  for  board 
and  tuition.  You  know  I  have  only  the  hundred  dollars 
I  earned  last  year,  and  had  thought  that  would  leave  me 
enough  money  for  books.  It  has  troubled  me  very  much. 
At  last  I  have  summoned  courage  to  write  home  about  it. 
I  think  they  can  let  me  have  what  I  absolutely  need,  so 
that  I  have  stopped  worrying.  ...  I  told  the  girls 
about  your  calling  on  Lincoln.'' 

^^  February  9,  1861, 
".  .  .  We  serenaded  Miss  Peabody  and  Miss  Mc- 
Cabe  last  night.  Program  of  the  serenade  was  :  *  Three 
Blind  Mice,'  *B-a,  Ba,  Be,  Be,  B-i,  Bi,'  ^  I  Bought  Me  a 
Grower,  *Mary  Had  a  Little  Lamb,'  and  ^  King  of  the 
Cannibal  Islands.'  We  quite  shocked  Miss  Helen  with 
*  Woman  Pudaing,  Baby  Sauce,'  whereas  Miss  McCabe 
was  quite  delighted,  and  wants  me  to  copy  the  words 
for  her. 

"We  have  organized  our  class  into  a  society, — Presi- 
dentj  Miss  Bell  Eiggs ;  Vice  President,  Miss  Ellen  John- 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  37 

son.  We  have  had  some  pleasant  meetings  and  quite  ex- 
citing ones,  with  such  important  topics  as  our  gloves  and 
gowns  for  graduating.  They  are  important  to  us,  as  we 
shall  not  graduate  but  once,  you  know.  At  our  last  meet- 
ing we  had  a  peculiarly  gay  time  talking  about  our 
badge.  I  want  pipe-stone  seals,  but  don't  suppose  it  will 
suit  generally  to  have  them. 

* '  You  say,  *  Don' t  be  proud  of  your  voice. '  Don' t  fear 
that  I  will  be  at  present.  I  know  so  little  about  using  it 
properly,  that  there  are  very  few  girls  of  my  acquaint- 
ance who  play  and  sing,  who  do  not  sing  more  effectively 
than  I  do.  I  almost  grow  discouraged  sometimes, — not 
often,  though.  I  plod  along  patiently  and  seldom  get  dis- 
couraged at  anything,  for  if  I  should  give  up,  surely  no 
one  else  could  do  anything  with  me. 

*'We  talk  politics  here  considerably.  Miss  McCabe 
keeps  us  pretty  well  posted.  I  read  the  papers  some,  and 
the  Independent  faithfully.  Thank  you  for  your  brotherly 
kindness  in  sending  it  to  me.  I  am  now  reading  some  of 
Macaulay's  and  Carlyle's  magazine  articles,  as  we  hap- 
pen to  have  two  volumes  of  the  *  Modern  British  Es- 
sayists.' 

*^  Study  hour  bell  will  ring  in  a  few  minutes,  so  good- 
night. Your  affectionate 

"  Isabella." 

"  Western  Female  Seminary^  Oxford^  Feb.  11,  1861. 
"  My  Deae  Mes.  Drake  : 

^^.  .  f.  I  have  discovered  that  I  can  afford  a 
new  graduating  dress,  but  Miss  Peabody  will  purchase 
the  goods  for  us.  I  should  like  to  have  you  get  me  a  hoop 
skirt,  however.  We  have  about  decided  to  have  our 
graduating  dresses  made  high  in  the  neck  and  surplice 
waists.  There  is  to  be  a  dressmaker  up  from  the  city  to 
help  the  girls  make  their  dresses.    We  have  had  a  world 


38  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

of  talking  to  do,  and  have  most  certainly  done  it  faith- 
fully !    .     .     ." 

"  Western  Female  Seminary,  March  27,  1861. 
"Dear  Alfred: 

"  We  had  quite  an  animated  discussion  on  Milton's 
fourth  book  day  before  yesterday.  We  are  none  of  us 
rabid  Woman's  Eights  women,  but  we  don't  any  of  us 
agree  to  Milton's  'not  equal.'  Miss  McCabe  is  very  con- 
servative ou  this  point,  and  I  don't  think  she  could  be  in- 
duced to  have  a  lady  doctor  or  to  attend  any  woman's 
sermon  or  lecture  or  anything,  yet  even  she  doesn't  '  quite 
agree  with  Mr.  Milton.' 

"I'm  glad  you  think  I  can  learn  to  sing.  I'm  not 
afraid  of  hard  work,  and  will  do  the  best  I  can.  I  meant 
to  tell  you  when  I  was  talking  about  Milton,  of  Miss  Mc- 
Cabe's  comment  on  *  God  is  thy  law,  thou  mine.  To  know 
no  more  is  woman's  happiest  knowledge  and  her  praise.' 
She  said  it  was  true, — that  the  happiest  women  were  those 
who  had  what  '  he '  said,  as  their  rule  in  everything.  I 
think  that's  a  libel.  She  believes  that  ^beauty  is  ex- 
celled by  manly  grace,'  but  that  *  mentally,  men  and 
women  are  equal,  though  not  alike.'  I  don't  think  that's 
quite  consistent.  We  girls  were  hardly  more  so,  how- 
ever, in  our  discussion !  .  .  .  Good-night. 
^  ^  Your  affectionate  sister, 

"Isabella." 

'^  Bast  Walnut  Sills,  Cincinnati,  June  6,  1861. 
"My  Dear  Alfred  : 

*  *  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  tell  thee  all. 
Anna  and  I  will  be  ready  to  start  from  Chicago  Monday, 
June  twenty-fourth.  Mrs.  Drake  and  I  have  been  mak- 
ing mamma's  purchases  this  week.  I  really  don't  know 
anything  which  requires    more  talent  than  this  does. 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  39 

Taste  and  judgment  (of  fitness  and  cost)  are  stretched 
like  a  bowstring.  Strings  snap  sometimes,  and  I'm  afraid 
I'll  wind  up  by  getting  a  dress  for  mamma  with  all  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow,  or  yellow  calico  for  the  boys' 
coats  and  pants,  such  as  they  desired  a  few  years  ago.  I 
am  getting  scared  about  the  money,  too,  for  papa  has 
given  me  carte  blanche  (don't  take  it  for  granted  that  I 
can  pronounce  that)  and  I'm  afraid  he  won't  do  it 
again !  " 

The  winter  of  1861-62  Isabella  spent  at  home  in  Hazel- 
wood,  helping  in  the  mission  work  and  for  four  months 
teaching  the  school  of  eighteen  Indian  children. 

^'  Some  Sazelwood,  Oct.  29,  1861, 
"  My  Dear  Alfred  : 

".  .  .  We  have  been  talking,  as  we  do  every 
now  and  then,  about  my  going  to  the  Normal  School  at 
Winona  in  the  spring.  We  resolved  ourselves  into  a 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  but  have  matured  noth- 
ing, for  we  find  no  way,  and  have  no  means.  ...  I 
fear  that  it  is  easy  for  me  to  let  wishes  for  things  which 
I  seem  to  fail  in  having,  grow  so  strong  that  life  seems 
to  be  nothing  but  an  agony  of  desire, — a  long- continued 
hunger  and  thirst.  Again  it  is  easier  by  far  to  sing  Te 
Deum.     .     .     ." 

'^  December  1,  1861, 
*^  .  .  In  great  tribulation  I  am  acting  as  tailor- 
ess  for  the  boys.  The  sewing-machine  does  its  part  nobly, 
but  I  haven't  any  great  genius  for  dispatching  anything 
of  the  kind.  Pockets  and  collars  and  buttonholes  try  my 
(righteous)  soul  exceedingly.  My  third  coat  is  nearly 
done  ;  my  fourth  is  to  be  the  last,  and  I  rejoice  at  the 
prospect.     Thomas  is  tx)  be  favored  with  two,  Henry  has 


40  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

one,  and  Henry  Williamson  the  same.     Their  other  tailor- 
ing troubles  me  much  less,  as  I  am  used  to  that.    .    .    ." 

^^  February  6^  1862. 
".  .  ,  The  future  is  a  puzzling  subject  for  thought, 
and  I  am  getting  more  and  more  distrustful  of  my  capa- 
bility of  judging,  in  points  which  may  affect  it.  Now  it 
seems  as  if  little  things  might  have  a  wider  bearing  and 
greater  influence  on  my  future  life  than  they  have  had 
before,  and  so  I  have  less  faith  in  myself,  and  try  to  have 
more  in  God.  I  believe  I  do  have  more  than  heretofore. 
I  learned  something  of  trust  last  winter  for  I  got 
through  the  year  decently,  although  I  could  not  see  be- 
forehand how  I  could  do  so.  When  I  got  to  Oxford, 
after  paying  for  board  and  tuition,  and  buying  one  book 
and  fifty  cents'  worth  of  postage  stamps,  I  hadn't  a  cent, 
and  had  already  borrowed  ten  dollars  of  Martha.  Our 
home  folks  sent  me  fifteen  dollars  ;  I  earned  some  seven 
or  eight  dollars,  and  so  got  through.  My  roommate  was 
almost  as  poor  as  I  (not  quite,  for  she  was  able  to  lend  me 
in  my  entire  destitution, — but  almost),  and  we  used  to  get 
a  great  deal  of  relief  from  talking  over  our  financial  diffi- 
culties. She  spoke  of  it  in  her  last  letter,  *  Those  were 
times  which  tried  girls'  souls.'     .     .     ." 

'^  February  21  j  1862, 
".  .  .  We  have  just  been  reading  '  Cecil  Dreeme ' 
and  Curtis' s  prefatory  life  of  Winthrop,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  things  I  ever  saw, — a  prose  Lycidas.  I  have 
been  reading  besides,  ^  Tom  Brown,'  Mitchell's  'Planetary 
and  Stellar  Worlds,'  Macaulay's  History,  one  volume ; 
and  the  'Marble  Faun'  (over  two  or  three  times,  I 
should  think),  for  the  criticism  and  description  and  not 
for  the  story,  although  I  have  got  quite  reconciled  to  it. 
Tennyson  I  never  stop  reading.     '  Night  Thoughts '   I 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  41 

commenced  ou  Aunt  Jane's  recommendation,  but  to  my 
sorrow  and  shame,  found  out  that  I  was  very  glad  to 
stop,  before  the  Thoughts  did  !  I  have  read  a  few  pages 
of  Spencer's  work  on  Education,  and  have  gained  one 
idea  which  will  stick.  I  have  skimmed  over  Goethe, 
so  much  as  we  have  of  him,  peeped  into  Scott's  Poems 
and  Bacon's  Essays,  and  read  Taylor's  *  Logic  in  The- 
ology,'— as  well  as  forgotten  every  bit  of  it  since  !  Some 
things  in  *  Recreations  of  a  Country  Parson,'  and  'Dr. 
Grant  and  the  Mountain  Nestorians'  I  haven't  for- 
gotten." 

A  few  sentences  from  Isabella's  carefully  worked  out 
School  Report  for  the  spring  of  1862  show  in  the  girl  of 
twenty-two  some  of  the  characteristics  of  later  years. 
The  pupils  studied  in  both  Dakota  and  English,  and  ten 
read  daily  in  the  Dakota  Bible.  It  was  her  great  desire 
that  these  Indian  children  might  become  real  Christians. 
We  see  her  interest  in  the  '' troublesome  scholar,"  and  it 
makes  us  think  of  the  poor,  fallen  Chinese  whom  she 
"  could  not  give  up,"  in  later  years. 

".  .  .  During  the  term,  Joseph  Ogi  Ota,  John 
Laframboise,  William  Dickey  and  Bell  Renville  have  left 
the  school.  William  was  a  troublesome  scholar,  and  the 
school  is  more  easily  managed  without,  than  with  him. 
Still  I  had  interested  myself  so  much  in  him,  that  I 
was  sorry  to  have  him  go  away.  .  .  .  There  have 
been  causes  for  discouragement  as  well  as  some  encourag- 
ing indications.  I  have  much  hope  that  I  shall  be  able 
to  fulfill  my  part  during  the  present  term  so  that  the  re- 
sult shall  equal  my  desires.  I  have  been  earnest  in  my 
attempts  to  do  my  duty,  and  feel  that  the  position  of 
teacher  here  is  important,  and  that  it  is  one  which  can- 
not be  lightly  or  carelessly  filled.  My  hope  is  that  at  the 
close  of  this  term  I  shall  be  able  to  report  such  prog- 


42  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ress  and  behavior  as  shall  equal  your  prayers  and  de- 
sires." 

The  summer  of  1862  saw  all  the  family  together  in  the 
home  in  Hazelwood,  with  the  exception  of  the  eldest 
brother,  Alfred.  To  him  Isabella  wrote: — ^'Our  days 
are  busy  and  happy,  and  just  now  especially  pleasant 
since  we  have  a  lady  and  gentleman  from  New  Jersey, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  Wilson  Moore,  boarding  with  us. 
They  came  out  to  Minnesota  on  their  wedding  trip.  They 
are  very  pleasant  and  fit  very  comfortably  into  our  mode 
of  life.  Mrs.  Moore  is  only  eighteen.  We  elderly 
maidens,  Martha  and  myself,  consider  her  very  juvenile, 
so  far  as  years  go,  but  like  her  for  all  that.  She  sings  a 
great  number  of  ballads.  I  think  their  visit  will  do  us 
all  good.     .     .     ." 

The  peaceful  home  life  in  Hazelwood  was  soon  to  come 
to  an  end.  On  a  quiet  Sabbath,  the  seventeenth  of 
August,  while  the  Christian  Indians  and  the  missionaries 
were  celebrating  together  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  hostile  bands  of  heathen  Sioux,  angered  by 
broken  promises  on  the  part  of  government  agents,  and 
inflamed  with  rum  sold  them  by  white  men,  began  the 
terrible  massacres  of  the  Outbreak  of  1862. 

At  Hazelwood  the  rumors  of  the  uprising  were  at  first 
utterly  disbelieved,  but  by  sunset  on  Monday,  the  Chris- 
tian Indians,  who  at  first  thought  they  could  give  protec- 
tion, pleaded  with  the  missionaries  to  escape  while  there 
was  yet  time.  And  at  midnight  the  dear  home  was  left 
forever,  soon  to  be  burned  to  ashes,  with  its  treasures 
scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  the  earth.  There  was  no 
time  for  preparation,  and  little  of  either  food  or  clothing 
could  be  taken,  for  strange  men  had  stolen  the  horses 
from  the  stables,  and  the  journey  must  be  made  on  foot. 
It  was  hoped  that  the  danger  might  be  only  temporary, 
and  for  a  day  they  remained  in  hiding  on  an  island  in 


A  GOODLY  HEKITAGE  43 

the  Minnesota  Eiver,  the  party  being  reinforced  by  other 
missionary  families  and  white  settlers  to  the  number  of 
thirty  and  more.  In  hunger  and  weariness  they 
journeyed,  fording  creeks  and  crossing  swamps  and 
marshes.  Fires  could  not  be  built  for  fear  of  detection 
by  hostile  Indians.  Sometimes  they  saw  the  smoke  of 
burning  villages  where  the  savage  bands  were  even  then 
at  their  deadly  work ; — sometimes  on  a  night  march,  they 
stumbled  over  dead  bodies.  Destruction  and  death  were 
all  about  them.  But  God  kept  them  as  they  journeyed 
across  the  pathless  prairie,  through  dangers  seen  and  un- 
seen,— "the  terror  by  night, '^  and  "the  arrow  that 
flieth  by  day,"  and  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  were  ever 
in  their  minds, — "God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a 
very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble." 

So  soon  as  might  be,  the  story  of  the  dreadful  happen- 
ings along  the  Minnesota  Eiver  had  been  flashed  over  the 
land.  The  older  brother  in  Illinois  came  with  a 
revolver  in  his  grip,  wondering  indeed  what  he  might 
find.  A  brother  of  D.  Wilson  Moore,  in  New  Jersey, 
telegraphed  "  Send  the  bodies  at  any  cost ! " 

But  it  was  a  very  much  alive  company,  albeit  sun- 
burned, ragged,  footsore  and  weary,  that  walked  into 
Henderson,  Minnesota,  on  the  afternoon  of  August 
twenty- fifth.  On  the  brow  of  the  hill  above  the  town, 
they  were  met  by  several  Indian  women  who  rushed  to 
greet  them,  saying,  "We  are  strangers  to  you,  but  we 
have  white  hearts,  and  we  heard  you  were  all  killed  ! " 
In  Henderson  and  Shakopee  there  were  those  who  gave 
of  their  best  to  these  destitute  "refugees,"  and  finally  in 
St.  Anthony  they  found  themselves  among  the  kindest  of 
friends.  And  in  St.  Anthony,  for  the  three  years 
following,  the  Biggs  family  made  their  home.  In 
October,  1862,  Isabella  wrote  to  her  brother  Alfred  : — 
,    ".     .     .     We  have  just  expressed  a  trunk  to  our  ref- 


44  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ugee  friends  at  Traverse.  Martha  and  I  trimmed  up  a 
bonnet  for  Julia,  and  a  milliner  here  trimmed  another  in 
crape  for  Mrs.  Huggins.  We  went  down  to  get  the  trim- 
mings and  incidentally  told  the  circumstances  in  Mrs. 
Huggins'  case,  when  she  offered  to  trim  the  bonnet  for  us 
and  only  charge  for  the  material.  Don't  you  think  she 
was  generous  ?  I  believe  it  will  do  us  good  to  be  here. 
It  is  blessed  sometimes  to  receive  as  well  as  to  give.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Van  Eman  prove  themselves  to  be  the  kindest  of 
friends,  day  by  day  more  and  more  so.  I  couldn't  begin 
to  tell  you  the  friendly  offices  they  have  done  for  us.  If 
all  St.  Anthony  people  are  as  agreeable  as  those  we  know, 
it  will  be  a  very  nice  town  to  live  in. 

*'.  .  .  We  are  getting  extremely  dissipated !  Why, 
we  go  out  two  evenings  every  week  (one  is  prayer- 
meeting  and  the  other  singing),  and  have  taken  tea  out 
once  and  are  going  again  to-morrow.  Then  we  find  much 
of  our  pleasure  in  promenading  Front  Street— to  shop,  of 
course.  Just  think  of  it !  Did  you  ever  suppose  your  sis- 
ters would  become  such  trifling  creatures  ?  To  be  sure  we 
shop  hardly  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  buy  eggs,  brooms, 
potatoes,  tubs,  vinegar,  stoves,  crockery  and  tinware  in- 
stead of  fineries  and  furbelows  ! " 

During  the  winter  of  1862-63,  Isabella  taught  in  a 
Young  Ladies'  Boarding  School  in  St.  Anthony.  The 
next  fall  a  school  was  opened  in  Lakeland,  Minnesota,  of 
which  Isabella  took  charge. 

Many  years  later,  two  of  her  pupils,  and  Miss  Mary  Le 
Due,  her  fellow-teacher  and  lifelong  friend,  wrote  of 
those  days  at  Lakeland,  and  a  few  extracts  from  their  let- 
ters show  Isabella's  influence  and  character  as  her  own 
letters  cannot. 

Her  pupil,  Mr.  Oscar  Jackson,  writes  : — 

"  When  the  Lakeland  Academy  was  opened  in  Septem- 
ber,  1863,  Miss  Isabella  Eiggs   was  chosen   principal. 


A  GOODLY  HEEITAGE  45 

Her  influence  in  Lakeland  was  not  confined  to  the  school- 
room, for  she  was  a  leading  spirit  for  good  in  the  village, 
through  her  speaking,  her  singing  and  playing,  and  her 
presence.  She  had  a  wonderful  gift  of  song.  Before  that 
time  there  had  been  few  opportunities  for  the  young  peo- 
ple of  Lakeland  to  learn  to  sing  by  note,  and  she  helped 
us  by  giving  us  instruction  in  vocal  music.  .  .  .  She 
was  a  born  missionary,  for  she  was  always  wanting  to  do 
some  one  good.  .  .  . "  His  brother,  Mr.  Preston 
Jackson,  adds  : — "In  the  schoolroom  she  was  bright  and 
vivacious,  insisting  on  good  behavior  and  hard  study. 
Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  say  something  sharp  and 
perhaps  a  little  sarcastic  to  bring  us  up  to  the  line,  but  it 
did  us  good.  I  have  been  thankful  many  times  since  that 
she  did.  The  influence  of  her  strong,  lovely  character 
upon  her  pupils  and  upon  the  community  was  remarkable. 
It  has  always  seemed  wonderful  to  me  how  she  could  take 
such  a  deep,  earnest  interest  in  so  many  of  us.  To  me 
she  was  as  loving  and  kind  as  though  she  were  my  own 
sister.  Among  my  treasured  things  of  boyhood  days  (I 
was  about  fifteen  years  old  then)  are  many  letters  she 
wrote  to  me  when  on  her  vacations  and  after  she  went  to 
China.     .     .    .'' 

Miss  Le  Due  writes : — 

"How  far,  far  away  those  days  at  Lakeland  seem,  and 
yet  how  vividly  many  of  the  experiences  we  enjoyed  and 
suffered  together  come  back  to  me.  Our  life  in  that  little 
Minnesota  village  was  a  mixture  of  comedy  and  tragedy. 
The  house  in  which  we  roomed  and  boarded  was  the 
coldest  shell  of  a  house,  and  the  winter  one  of  Minnesota's 
most  severe,  and  as  we  had  no  fire  in  our  room,  and  were 
not  provided  with  sufficient  bedclothing,  we  spent  half 
the  coldest  nights  in  shivering  sleeplessness,  and  were 
glad  to  hurry  to  the  schoolroom  in  the  morning,  where 
we  could  build  a  fire  and  thaw  out !    And  our  pupils 


46  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

were  so  eager  to  learn,  their  parents  so  kind,  social  and 
sympathetic,  that  we  worked  with  enthusiasm  and  enjoy- 
ment, and  forgot  all  the  discomforts  of  the  home.  .  .  . 
How  I  loved  to  watch  Isabella  as  she  sang.  Do  you  re- 
member the  absorbed,  inspired  expression,  the  long, 
dark  eyelashes,  the  clear  enunciation,  the  mobile  mouth, 
and  soulful  voice  ?  Her  singing  was  an  uplifting  power 
in  the  school.     .     .     . 

^^  Isabella  and  I  met  as  strangers.  At  the  close  of  our 
year  of  earnest  work  for  others,  of  intellectual  and  spirit- 
ual growth,  we  parted  as  dearest  friends,  and  what  a 
friend  she  proved  all  through  our  separate  lives  !  I  have 
never  had  another  so  steadfast,  so  devoted." 

Isabella's  two  years  at  Lakeland  closed  in  the  summer 
of  1865,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  the  family  home  was 
removed  from  St.  Anthony  to  Beloit,  Wisconsin.  In 
October  Isabella  went  with  her  father  to  Chicago,  to  at- 
tend the  meeting  of  the  American  Board.  There  an  im- 
portant decision  was  made,  and  she  became  the  promised 
wife  of  Eev.  Mark  Williams,  whom  she  had  known  dur- 
ing her  school-days  in  Ohio,  and  who  was  appointed  by 
the  American  Board  as  a  missionary  to  China.  From 
Lockport,  Illinois,  she  wrote  to  her  mother  : — 

^^  As  father  has  told  you,  I  have  promised  to  go  to 
China.  I  trust  that  I  have  done  right.  I  believe  that  I 
have.  Still  I  know  that  unless  I  have  great  help  from 
above,  there  will  still  come  doubt  and  perplexity,  as  there 
does  come  to  every  one  in  all  places  in  life.  We  have  the 
promise  of  God  that  we  shall  be  sustained  and  strength- 
ened. This  missionary  work  is  a  great  work,  and  a  most 
noble  one.  I  think  you  will  be  glad  to  have  me  as  your  sub- 
stitute in  this  army  of  the  Lord,  although  I  cannot  go  into 
the  same  army  corps.  Since  this  meeting  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board,  I  have  a  new  conception  of  the  grandeur  of 
the  labor  which  Christ  has  left  as  a  legacy  to  His  chil- 


A  GOODLY  HERITAGE  47 

dren.  I  feel  more  earnestly  than  ever  before  the  obliga- 
tion resting  on  some  to  go  amoDg  the  heathen,  and  who 
are  so  likely  to  feel  the  necessity  of  such  labor  as  the  chil- 
dren of  missionaries  ?  I  think  we  shall  all  feel  glad  that 
I  am  going. 

^^Mr.  Williams  is  going  down  to  Beloit  some  time, — 
now,  if  I  say  so, — and  at  Christmas  at  any  rate.  He  may 
stay  out  here  and  preach  or  may  go  back  to  Ohio. 

*^  I  hope  you  are  not  working  too  much  again. 
''Always  your  loving 

'' Isabella. '^ 

''  October  13,  1865, 
"  Dear  Mamma  : 

''Your  letter  came  this  morning.  I  know  not  how 
to  comfort  you.  ...  I  feel  as  though  God  will  surely 
lead  us  and  help  us  and  comfort  us  through  the  span  of 
life  which  He  will  give.  And  we  surely  have  a  right  to 
ask  that  we  may  '  count  it  all  joy.'  All  things  are  possi- 
ble with  God  ;  unaided  by  Him  it  is  a  sheer  impossibility. 
But  we  must  remember  that 

**  *  His  grace  and  power  are  such 
None  can  never  ask  too  much. ' 

"If  you  had  not  lived,  my  place  surely  would  have 
been  at  home.  The  matter  would  not  have  required  a 
second  thought.  For  two  or  three  days  I  have  been  say- 
ing over  to  myself,  hour  after  hour, — 

" '  On  the  Eock  of  Ages  founded, 
What  can  shake  thy  sure  repose  ? ' 

"  When  I  feel  most  strongly  as  if  I  cannot  go  to  China, 
I  remember  that  it  is  not  more  than  you  and  many  others 


48  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

have  done  before  me,  and  I  dare  not  say,  ^  I  am  not  brave 
enough  to  go.'  And  yet  I  am  not,  unless  I  have  help  from 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest. 

".    .    .    Mr.  Williams  left  for  Chicago  this  morning. 
*^I  am  your  loving 

*' Isabella." 


n 

THE  JOUENEY  TO  CHINA 

I  said,  "  Let  me  walk  in  the  fields," 
He  said,  "  No,  walk  iu  the  town." 
I  said,  "There  are  no  flowers  there !  " 
He  said,  *'  No  flowers,  but  a  crown." 

I  said,  ' '  But  the  fogs  are  thick, 
And  the  clouds  are  veiling  the  sun." 
He  answered,  "  But  hearts  are  sick 
And  souls  in  the  dark  undone." 

I  said,  "  But  the  skies  are  dark. 

There  is  nothing  but  noise  and  din." 

And  He  wept  as  He  led  me  back. 

**  There  is  more,"  He  said ;  "  there  is  sin." 

I  said,  "  I  shall  miss  the  light 
And  friends  will  miss  me,  they  say." 
He  answered,  "  Choose  ye  to-night 
If  I  must  miss  thee,  or  they." 

I  pleaded  for  time  to  be  given  ; 
He  said,  "  Is  it  hard  to  decide  ? 
It  will  not  seem  hard  in  heaven 
To  have  followed  the  steps  of  your  Guide." 

— George  MacDonald. 

ON  February  21,  1866,  Isabella  Burgess  Eiggs  and 
Mark  Williams  were  married  in  the  home 
church  at  Beloit.  A  few  days  at  home  with  the 
father  and  mother,  the  brothers  and  sisters,  and  then  the 
long  journey  was  begun.  Letters  came  to  the  home  tell- 
ing of  delightful  visits  with  classmates  and  friends,  and 
with  Mr.  Williams's  ''Uncle  Chidlaw,''  the  famous 
Welsh  Sabbath  School  Missionary.  Together  they 
visited  Lane  Seminary,  Cincinnati,  and  Oxford,  rich  in 

49 


60  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

memories  of  school -days.  But  best  of  all  were  the  weeks 
at  Mr.  Williams's  home,  where  the  father  and  mother, 
who  had  long  ago  consecrated  their  son  to  missionary- 
work,  welcomed  them  to  the  old  home,  and  bid  them  God- 
speed on  their  journey. 

(To  her  brother  Alfred.) 
^^  March  23,  1866,  Near  Lodcport,  New  York. 

"I  think  I  shall  send  you  some  hieroglyphics  from 
the  New  York  Central.  We  have  come  from  Niagara. 
I  felt  as  if  I  could  have  looked  forever,  but  don't 
mean  to  go  into  the  adjectives !  Mr.  Williams  bought 
Coleridge' s  Works,  and  I  have  a  volume  out  for  reading 
on  the  cars,— his  notes  on  Shakespeare  and  other  dramatic 
authors.     They  seem  very  abrupt  and  fragmentary  to  me. 

"Kiss  the  dear  baby  for  us.  I  shall  always  thin^  of 
him  as  he  is  now,  and  shall  be  slow  to  imagine  him  grown 
to  man^s  estate. 

^ '  Good-byes  have  been  hard  to  say.  The  note  from  you, 
Alfred,  did  me  so  much  good.  The  idea  that  our  going 
from  you  seemed  not  so  much  the  token  of  long  and  wide 
separation  as  of  closer  binding  together  of  our  homes,  al- 
though the  sea  comes  between  us,  helped  and  still  helps.  ^' 

Passage  had  been  engaged  on  board  the  Samuel  RusseU, 
to  sail  the  first  week  of  April.  Isabella  went  on  from 
New  York  to  the  Longley  home  in  Massachusetts,  where, 
as  a  girl  of  twelve,  she  had  spent  a  winter  with  her 
grandparents.  On  her  return  the  days  went  quickly  by, 
planning  and  packing  the  outfit.  She  wrote  to  her 
mother  : — "I  commence  to  fulfill  my  promise  of  writing 
ten  minutes  a  day.  It  will  be  very  easy  to  do  it,  gen- 
erally, since  I  shall  think  of  you  so  many  times  ten 
minutes. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  51 

*^  We  have  invested  seventy  dollars  in  books.  What 
treasures  they  will  be  !  Nor  have  we  forgotten  the  more 
prosaic  things.  In  our  purchasing,  we  took  care  to  in- 
clude soup  spoons,  as  I  believe  rat  soup  is  to  be  a 
standby  ! " 

To  her  friend,  Mrs.  Drake,  she  wrote,  ^^  Your  sister  has 
been  a  good  Samaritan  to  poor,  unsophisticated  me  !  I 
think  of  the  many  kindnesses  which  you  have  shown  me, 
and  feel  that  you  have  no  small  share  in  this  missionary 
work  among  the  Chinese.     I  shall  be  partly  your  deputy.'  ^ 

On  April  sixth,  the  day  before  they  sailed,  she  wrote 
to  her  little  sister  Cornelia: — "Dear  little  Tot,  I  am 
going  to  write  you  one  more  letter  before  we  go  on  the 
ship.  Then  I  will  write  you  another,  but  you  will  not  get 
it  for  a  long  time.  We  have  a  very  nice  ship,  as 
you  will  see  by  the  picture.  She  sails  fast,  and  there  is  a 
great  deal  more  room  on  her  for  us  to  walk  about  in  than 
I  expected. 

*'Be  a  good,  pleasant  little  girl,  and  play  outdoors  all 
you  can.  I  hope  you  will  be  mamma's  sunshine,  to  help 
her  get  well." 

On  April  seventh,  the  long  ocean  voyage  was  begun. 
On  board  the  Samuel  Eussell^  Isabella  wrote  : — 

"  Here  is  to  be  that  one  more  letter,  and  it  will  be  as 
long  as  the  pilot  will  let  it.  I've  read  your  good-bye  let- 
ters many  times,  and  presume  I  shall  wear  out  the  edges 
before  we  reach  Hongkong  !    .     .     ." 

They  sailed  in  company  with  Eev.  Justus  Doolittle  and 
his  wife.  Mr.  Doolittle  was  well  known  as  the  author  of 
"Social  Life  Among  the  Chinese,"  and  under  his  direc- 
tion the  study  of  the  Chinese  language  was  begun. 

This  was  the  last  company  of  missionaries  to  make  the 
voyage  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  a  sailing  vessel. 
A  record  of  the  three  months  at  sea  is  given  in  Isabella's 
Ship  Journal. 


62  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*'  On  Ship  Samuel  Bussell,  April  13,  1866, 
"  Dear  Folks: 

^^Good-morniDg  !  We  have  had  our  Chinese  les- 
son, and  it  is  now  late  in  the  afternoon.  But  my  story- 
will  have  more  harmony  if  I  take  up  its  thread  where  it 
was  broken  off.  I  don't  remember  about  the  rest  of  that 
day,  only  that  it  was  very  sad.  While  I  could  write  you, 
— while  you  still  wrote  to  me,  we  did  not  seem  utterly 
separated.  That  afternoon,  however,  the  last  word  which 
you  could  have  from  me  for  months,  had  been  written 
and  sent  away.  The  last,  last  word  !  The  next  day,  and 
the  next,  I  was  sick,  and  felt  very  unlike  myself,  but  was 
not  so  entirely  wrapt  up  in  my  feelings  as  not  to  think  of 
you  all.  If  it  had  not  rained,  so  that  we  were  shut  down 
in  the  cabin,  I  think  I  would  have  been  tolerably  well. 
Yesterday  we  had  no  fire  till  nearly  noon,  when  I  spoke 
to  the  steward  about  it.  So  I  had  popcorn  for  supper, 
and  after  a  good  night's  rest,  found  myself  all  right,  ex- 
cept that  I'm  rather  sensitive  to  the  various  smells  which 
salute  our  noses  from  all  quarters.  Seasickness  prej  udicea 
one  against  food  in  general.  Yesterday  oranges  and 
bananas  tasted  worse  than  rhubarb  and  castor  oil. 

"  After  breakfast  this  morning  we  sat  on  deck  and  sang 
a  while.  Then  came  our  Chinese  lesson.  After  dinner  I 
read  *  Charles  Auchester.'  The  book  is  thoroughly  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  music,  and  yet  some  of  it  seems  puerile. 
I  knew  once  whom  Seraphael  is  a  portrait  of,  but  try  now 
in  vain  to  remember.  Not  Beethoven, — he  is  spoken  of 
by  his  own  name.  Was  it  Mendelssohn  ?  I  remember  to 
have  read  a  criticism  which  characterized  the  portrait  as 
exaggerated.  It  may  be,  but  the  story  suited  my  mood 
well  to-day. 

**  A  little  while  ago  there  were  porpoises  playing 
around  the  ship.  They  seem  to  be  very  frolicsome  crea- 
tures.   Last  night  we  heard  a  whale  blow,  but  it  was  too 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  53 

dark  to  see  him.  The  phosphoric  light  in  the  wake  of 
the  ship  is  wonderful.  Sparks  flew  last  night  as  fast  as 
from  a  burning  chimney. 

"  This  afternoon  we  spoke  the  ship  Patrician,  bound  for 
Boston  from  Calcutta.  The  system  of  signalling  is  inter- 
esting. Signals  are  flags  of  different  colors  and  patterns 
which  stand  for  certain  numbers.  These  mean  words, 
which  are  determined  by  the  order  in  which  they  stand. 
For  instance,  after  reading  the  signals  with  his  glass,  the 
captain  would  say,  ^8,  4,  5,  6,— Sheffield,  look  up  the 
signification.' 

"  We  are  on  the  route  to  France,  making  use  of  the  cur- 
rent of  the  Gulf  Stream.  After  crossing  it  we  shall  have 
the  trade-wind.  The  air  is  warm,  and  it  is  delightful  to 
be  on  deck.'' 

^^  Saturday  nighty  April  IJf.,  1866. 

"One  week  of  our  ocean  life  gone.  We  have  had 
a  delightful  day,  and  have  been  on  deck  almost  all  the 
time. 

"  I  will  give  you  a  few  sentences  from  Mark's  home 
letter.  *  A  week  ago  the  ship  left  moorings,  and 
anchored  in  the  stream.  The  captain  has  remarked 
since  that  it  was  an  unlucky  day,  since  we  have  only 
gone  250  miles  during  the  week.  Saturday  morning  we 
bade  farewell  to  our  New  York  friends.  We  go  to 
find  friends,  and  we  go  to  our  adopted  country.  On 
Tuesday,  Long  Island  faded  from  our  sight,  and  we  bade 
farewell  to  America.  .  .  .  We  have  our  dreaded  sea- 
sickness. I  could  vouch  for  the  truth  of  Beecher's  saying, 
"  Whom  the  Lord  abhors.  He  sends  to  sea." 

*^  *  We  have  seen  a  nautilus  or  Portuguese  man-of-war. 
The  captain  brought  in  a  flying  fish  the  other  evening. 
It  was  about  eight  inches  long,  and  had  wide  wing-like 
fins.    The  fish  cannot  fly  long  without  having  them  wet 


64  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Mrs.  Doolittle  preserved  one  of  the  wings  by  pressing  it 
in  a  book.  We  had  a  taste  of  the  fish  next  morning  at 
breakfast.^ 

"  We  have  seen  neither  whales  nor  sharks,  but  have  seen 
one  pilot  fish,  the  shark's  servant,  a  beautiful  little 
creature.  Schools  of  flying  fish  are  about  us  all  the  time. 
Their  wings  gleam  in  the  sun  like  silver.  They  look 
like  bright  birds  to  me." 

^^  Wednesday,  April  18,  1866. 

'^  I  wish  you  could  just  see  us  going  with  an  unpremedi- 
tated bang  against  the  lee  side  of  the  cabin.  The  chairs 
were  quite  lively  last  night,  sliding  from  one  side  of  the 
cabin  to  the  other.  To-day  they  are  constant  in  their  at- 
tention to  our  side  of  the  cabin.  The  wind  is  steady,  and 
keeps  the  ship  inclined  to  one  side.  I  hold  my  ink  in  my 
hand,  keeping  a  sharp  eye  on  it,  for  fear  that  a  sudden 
lurch  would  spill  it  over  my  berth.  There's  danger  of  it, 
but  that  makes  trying  to  write  all  the  more  interesting. 
You've  no  idea  how  much  we  like  anything  which  breaks 
the  monotony  of  ship  life.  This  gale  would  be  very  wel- 
come if  it  did  not  bring  seasickness  with  it.  The  water 
is  dashing  over  the  main  deck.  The  stove  has  been 
taken  out  of  our  cabin,  and  we  are  obliged  to  go  to  bed 
to  keep  warm. 

"Writing  is  easier  than  walking  around  just  now.  I 
wonder  that  it  is  so  easy  for  me,  but  my  practice  in  writ- 
ing on  the  cars  helps  me.  It's  a  good  thing  for  me  that 
I  can  jot  you  a  page,  as  we  cannot  study  Chinese,  and  I'm 
tired  of  reading.  I  feel  as  if  I'd  rather  not  see  another 
book  for  a  week." 

''ApHl21,  1866. 
"  The  way  we  were  pitched  around  last  night  was  for- 
lorn.    My  impression  is  that  I  didn't  sleep  a  wink,  but 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  65 

kept  catching  at  something  to  keep  me  from  falling  out 
of  the  berth  all  night  long.  Not  quite  the  truth,  how- 
ever, I  presume  ! 

*'.  .  .  After  dinner  to-day  Mark  and  I  finished  ^  A 
Life  for  a  Life,'  which  we  have  been  reading  together 
and  like, — mostly.  We  are  reading  the  *  Life  of 
Madame  Guyon '  in  the  same  way.  Since  then,  I  have 
worked  two  hours  at  a  list  of  Chinese  words  which  Mr. 
Doolittle  has  us  practice  on.'' 

'^  Monday,  April  23,  1866, 
"I'm  through  my  day's  work,  and  have  a  nice  long 
time  to  write.  We  are  near  25°  north  latitude.  Our 
weather  is  perfectly  delightful.  I  didn't  half  give  you 
the  history  of  last  week.  The  captain  said  the  sea  was 
*a  little  rough,'  and  there  was  ^something  of  a  gale.' 
We  thought  there  was,  decidedly  !  We  were  so  churned 
up  that  it  was  easy  to  be  sick  in  the  orthodox  way.  We 
stayed  on  the  quarter-deck  as  much  as  possible.  I  alter- 
nated between  it  and  my  berth,  going  to  the  latter  when- 
ever I  was  too  cold  to  stay  on  deck  any  longer.  When 
going  out  we  put  on  all  the  clothes  we  could  wear,  and 
carried  blankets.  I  took  my  hoops  off,  and  don't  mean 
to  wear  them  except  in  pleasant  weather.  We  couldn't 
walk  about,  but  sat  holding  to  the  ropes.  The  white- 
capped  waves  looked  like  mountains  to  our  inexperienced 
eyes.  Their  spray  dashed  over  the  stern  every  little 
while,  and  a  wave  poured  over  the  middle  deck  some- 
what oftener.  Several  times  we  had  been  caught  by  the 
spray,  but  Friday  afternoon  when  we  were  making  be- 
lieve read,  and  were  sitting  on  the  windward  half  of  the 
deck,  a  wave  came  over  very  slyly  and  floated  us  for  a 
minute.  The  ship  lurched,  and  the  wave  ran  to  lee- 
ward, but  we  were  so  taken  by  surprise  that  it  was  back 
before  we  came  to  our  senses.     The  captain  and  the  other 


56  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

gentlemen  who  were  around  helped  us  up,  and  took  our 
hats,  shawls  and  blankets,  so  that  we  need  not  carry  all 
our  wet  clothes  into  our  staterooms.  Our  shawls  and 
Mrs.  Doolittle's  shoes  were  hung  on  the  spanker  boom  to 
dry,  and  the  rest  of  our  clothes  tied  to  the  rigging. 

*  *  Yesterday  Mr.  Doolittle  preached.  Mark  had  done  so 
the  Sabbath  before.  To-day  we  went  at  our  Chinese, 
and  all  studied  together  till  noon.  Then  Mrs.  Doolittle 
and  I  got  some  mending.  I  mended  two  pairs  of  stock- 
ings and  a  tear  in  my  travelling  dress.  After  dinner  I 
mended  Mark^s  coat  and  sewed  on  some  buttons  for  him. 
Our  Chinese  recitation  lasted  from  two  to  four,  which 
made  nearly  five  hours  for  Chinese  to-day.  We  have  had 
a  pleasant  time  to-day.  I  enjoyed  that  mending  very 
much. 

^'  Our  life  here  during  pleasant  weather  may  be  just  as 
profitable  as  if  we  were  in  China,  and  perhaps  pleasanter. 
In  rough  weather  we  can  neither  study,  nor  sew,  nor 
read,  with  satisfaction.  Even  if  one  is  not  seasick,  read- 
ing is  tiresome  in  the  dark  cabin  and  impossible  on 
deck.  As  for  study  or  sewing, — in  rough  weather,  a 
body  doesn't  feel  like  it  when  she  has  to  brace  up  with 
all  her  strength  simply  to  keep  in  a  chair  !  The  steward 
is  a  bustling  Scotchman  and  gets  more  falls  than  any  one 
else,  which  accounts  for  his  mild  wrath  at  Mrs.  Doolittle 
for  falling  against  the  cabin  table  and  knocking  up  the 
staple  which  fastened  it  to  the  floor. 

**  Shipboard  is  a  good  place  to  call  out  latent  selfishness. 
Mr.  Smith,  our  stateroom  neighbor,  wants  everybody  to 
wait  on  him.  It  is  ^  Steward  ! '  *  Ah  Ting  ! '  '  Charley  ! ' 
or  *  Lyman  ! '  all  day  long.  Our  room  is  an  unfortu- 
nate one  in  that  we  can  hear  almost  everything  which  is 
said  in  the  cabin,  and  even  in  the  stateroom  opposite 
ours.  We  stuff  our  clothes  into  the  ventilators  when  we 
don't  want  to  hear  Smith's  confidences  and  do  want  to 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  67 

go  to  sleep.     Then  we  have  to  put  our  fingers  in  our  ears 
when  he  is  especially  interested  in  his  recitals." 


^^  April  25y  1866.     Lat.  21°  Worth,  Long.  28°  West 
"  Monday  evening  was  so  delightful  that  we  stayed  on 

deck  till  late.     We  jumped  the  rope.     It  was  fun  to  see 

Mr.  Doolittle's  ponderous  body  shake  when  his  turn 

came. 

"  We    have    had    the  trade- wind  to-day,   and  glide 

smoothly  along  at  the  rate  of  nine  or  ten  knots  an  hour." 

**  Thursday,  April  27th. 
"  While  I  was  writing  the  last  sentence  yesterday,  I 
heard  a  confused  noise  of  voices  and  trampling,  and 
above  all  the  captain's  voice,  '  Helm  down  !  Man  over- 
board ! '  We  hurried  on  deck.  The  sailors  were  letting 
down  the  boat  and  putting  the  ship  about.  Mr.  Eowan 
had  thrown  the  step-ladder  over  the  instant  he  saw  the 
man  in  the  water,  but  he  either  did  not  see  it  or  could 
not  swim,  for  he  made  no  effort  to  reach  it.  He  had 
fallen  from  the  bowsprit  and  no  one  saw  him  fall.  He 
kept  up  on  the  water  for  a  while  but  the  boat  did  not 
reach  him.  Perhaps  a  shark  took  him.  It  was  sad  to 
see  life  go  out  thus.  Every  one  did  what  he  could. 
Grant  helped  at  the  helm  with  all  his  might,  and  other 
gentlemen  helped  about  taking  the  awning  down,  as  that 
hindered  putting  the  ship  about,  but  all  was  in  vain. 
The  man  was  a  German.  He  had  been  a  sailor  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years.  Freddy,  the  captain's  little  boy, 
says,  '  How  his  mother  will  feel  ! '  We  do  not  know 
that  he  was  a  Christian, — indeed,  I  believe  there  is  not  a 
Christian  on  board,  aside  from  us  four.  Mark  preaches 
on  Sabbath.  I  hope  his  sermon  will  do  good  to  some 
one." 


S8  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  Friday  J  April  26th. 

^'Fred  is  having  one  of  his  daily  thrashings  from  his 
father,  due  to  mistakes  in  his  spelling  lesson.  I  presume 
he  has  left  the  ^  u  ^  out  of  ^  squall.^ 

"  Our  fresh  beef  lasted  until  yesterday.^' 

^^Mayl,  1866, 
*^  Saturday,  a  Dutch  ship  passed  so  close  that  the  cap- 
tains spoke  with  their  trumpets.  She  goes  to  Amster- 
dam and  will  report  us.  Low  and  Company  will  hear 
from  us  ;  I  wonder  if  yoa  will.  We  hoped  the  Telemaque 
would  be  short  of  water,  as  we  could  then  have  stopped 
without  breaking  the  insurance,  and  could  have  sent  let- 
ters home  by  way  of  Europe.  (I  had  mine  all  ready  ex- 
cept sealing.)  Yesterday  we  passed  very  near  a  brig, 
and  anticipated  fine  talk,  but  all  the  English  they  knew 
was  *  Portuguese '  !  This  morning  we  signalled  a  Dutch 
bark  (a  vessel  with  three  masts).  She  was  a  mile  or  two 
off,  but  will  also  report  us.  Every  sail  I  see  gives  a  thrill 
of  hope  that  I  may  send  you  these  words,  but  I  try  not  to 
be  much  disappointed  as  they  pass  without  the  hope's 
fulfillment. 

^*The  days  pass  quickly  with  our  study  and  reading. 
We  are  reading  ^Madame  Guyon'  still,  and  'The  Old 
Helmet.'  Sometimes  I  read,  and  sometimes  knit  while 
Mark  reads.  We  like  the  '  Life  of  Madame  Guy  on,'  but 
Upham's  style  is  so  diffuse  that  I  should  never  have  time 
to  read  it  anywhere  but  on  shipboard. 

^'  A  few  days  ago  Mr.  Sheffield  caught  a  'bonita '  with 
an  instrument  called  the  'grains.'  It  has  four  barbed 
points  and  is  thrown  like  a  harpoon.  The  fish  weighed 
fifteen  pounds,  was  short  and  thick,  had  no  scales,  but  a 
very  brilliant  skin,  like  Joseph's  coat  of  many  colors. 
We  had  it  for  supper.  It  tasted  a  little  like  pork.  A 
large  number  of  them  swam  about  the  prow  all  that  mom- 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  6^ 

ing.    We  were  told  that  they  were  attracted  by  the  bright 
copper  on  the  bottom  of  the  ship.'' 

''May  10,  1866 J  S.  Lat.  10°,  W.  Long.  SO"". 

"I  haven't  written  you  a  word  for  a  long  while,  and 
don't  feel  much  like  doing  it  now.  I  just  had  an  unin- 
tentional slide  across  the  cabin,  landing  in  Mrs.  Doolittle's 
room.  I  had  a  fright  because  my  precious  ink  bottle  was 
in  danger,  and  besides,  I  am  trembling  from  head  to  foot 
with  the  jar.  I  meant  to  write  you  when  we  were  on  the 
equator,  but  we  passed  it  and  were  several  miles  south 
before  we  were  aware. 

"  I  feel  nowadays  as  if  my  intellect  was  capable  of  no 
further  exertion  when  our  Chinese  lesson  is  over.  Mr. 
Doolittle  says  the  devil  is  the  reputed  author  of  the  lan- 
guage. 

.*'I  think  of  you  all  very  often.  My  thoughts  are 
prayers.  I  am  so  far  off  from  you  that  it  gives  great  con- 
tent to  remember  that  God  is  near  you  and  us  alike,  and 
that  He  knows  all  about  us.  He  watches  us  while  we  are 
absent  one  from  the  other." 

''  Thursday,  May  17th, 
"This  week  I  have  been  reading  Holland's  ^Life  of 
Lincoln'  and  am  greatly  interested.  The  weather  does 
not  permit  reading  together,  as  we  cannot  sit  on  deck 
much.  Through  the  afternoon  to-day  there  were  heavy 
squalls  of  rain  ;  the  spanker  was  lowered,  and  towards 
night,  the  royals  were  reefed  ;  then  the  crochet-sail,  and 
finally  the  mizzen  topsail  and  topgallant.  We  went  to 
the  middle  deck  to  see  the  gallant  reefed.  We  sat  on  the 
booby  hatch,  Mrs.  Doolittle  and  I,  but  soon  felt  a  sprinkle 
of  salt  water  and  retreated.  Waves  came  over  in  a  few 
minutes  which  knocked  the  sailors  down  very  uncere- 
moniously. 


60  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"The  cat  has  fled  for  refuge  to  the  dining-room,  and 
is  mewing  piteously.  By  the  way, — cats  talk  Chinese  ! 
*  Miao ! '  *  Yao ! '  mean  a  great  variety  of  things  in 
Chinese. 

"Our  longitude  to-day  noon  was  34°  west,  with  lati- 
tude 30°  south,  so  that  we  are  quite  out  of  warm  weather. 
Last  week  I  had  on  my  light  calico,  and  to-night  my 
heavy,  large-figured  delaine.  My  hoops  are  hung  away. 
Mrs.  Doolittle  never  goes  without  hers,  so  the  fashion  is 
divided  ! 

"It  is  comical  to  see  legs  and  arms  flying  as  they  do 
now  in  an  attempted  passage  through  the  cabin.  A  short 
time  ago  Mark  was  reading  for  our  evening  worship, 
when  a  lurch  of  the  ship  shot  him  and  his  chair  in  dif- 
ferent directions.  As  I  write,  I  am  holding  convulsively 
to  the  table.  The  furniture  of  our  wash-stand  is  rattling 
as  dead  men's  bones  j  bowls,  pitchers  and  tumblers,  all 
at  it  with  a  vengeance." 

"  May  22d,  Lot.  36°  South. 

"My  memory  says  this  is  Robbie's  birthday.  No 
doubt  Thomas  and  Henry  gave  him  whippings  at  least  an 
hour  ago,  and,  making  a  guess,  I  should  say  that  at  this 
particular  minute  he  is  getting  several  from  the  boys  on 
the  playground.  It  is  3 :  15  P.  M.  here,  and  I  suppose 
about  10  A.  M.  in  Beloit.  Our  longitude  is  between 
20°  and  25°. 

"  Mark  has  just  copied  the  Chinese  lesson  for  me,  and 
instead,  I  shall  write  to  you,  so  you  may  thank  him  for 
this,  and  not  me. 

"I  have  just  taken  out  my  two-foot  rule  and  made 
measurements  in  our  stateroom  and  in  the  cabin,  so  that 
you  may  have  an  idea  of  our  present  home.  The  state- 
room is  four  feet,  two  inches  by  eight  feet.  Our  berths 
are  five  feet  ten  inches  long  and  two  feet  wide.     Behind 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  61 

the  door  are  six  little  shelves  where  our  books  are  sup- 
posed to  be.  In  rough  weather,  if  I  forget  to  wedge  them 
in  closely,  or  if  I  take  one  out  for  a  minute,  I  find  its 
neighbours  on  the  floor,  Dagon-like.  Let  me  show  my 
shelves  to  your  minds^  eyes.     Two  volumes  of  Coleridge, 

*  Wayside  Hymns'  with  its  pink  cover.  Wood's  Botany 
(one  which  Mark  studied  at  Miami),  two  copies  of  the 

*  Golden  Trio,'  my  French  Dictionary,  ^  Fasquelle '  (an- 
other of  Mark's  college  books),  Tennyson,  Mrs.  Browning, 
Elias's  Sermons  (Welsh),  Bible,  Testament,  second  vol- 
ume of  ^  Madame  Guyon,'  a  selection  from  Eutherford's 
Letters,  'Near  and  Heavenly  Horizons,'  Mark's  journal, 

*  Memoir  of  Marty n,'  and  '  Daily  Food,'  with  Jay's  *  Ex- 
ercises,' my  knitting,  and  a  clean  towel ! 

**  The  cabin  is  nine  feet  by  eighteen,  and  six  feet  high 
except  where  the  skylight  is. 

"  Cape  pigeons,  boobies  and  albatrosses  fly  at  the  stern 
of  the  ship.  Captain  Lucas  tells  us  that  the  boobies  some- 
times light  on  the  ship,  and  that  when  they  do  so,  they 
fall  asleep  immediately,  and  the  sailors  catch  them. 

''I  have  finished  Holland's  Life,  and  admire  Lincoln 
more  than  ever.  Our  days  are  greatly  shortened.  It  is 
too  dark  to  write  more  than  that  Isabella  loves  you  all." 

"  Thursday^  May  ^4,  1866. 

"  We  have  seen  a  wonderful  sight  to-day  !  Land  !  I  was 
sitting  in  my  berth,  just  about  to  set  the  heel  of  a  stocking 
(important  fact !  )  when  Mr.  Grant  called  down  the  com- 
panionway,  '  Land,  ho  ! '  We  all  rushed  to  the  quarter- 
deck to  look  at  three  clouds  on  the  horizon.  The  largest 
is  called  '  Inaccessible  Island,'  or  '  Tristan  d'  Acunha.'  It 
has  been  inhabited,  but  the  captain  thinks  it  is  not  at 
present.  Ships  very  seldom  sight  it.  The  island  has  no 
harbor.     Its  longitude  is  120°  3'  and  latitude  about  37°. 

*' While  off  the  South  American  coast  our  course  was 


62  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

somewhat  westward  after  passing  St.  Eoque.  At  noon 
the  steward  had  to  put  the  clocks  back  every  day.  Now 
he  puts  them  forward  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  minutes,  ac- 
cording to  our  progress. 

"We  have  beautiful  weather  still,  and  are  on  deck  a 
great  deal.  When,  however,  the  wind  is  so  strong  that  we 
are  driven  down,  we  do  not  think  it  much  of  a  hardship, 
remembering  that  we  shall  the  sooner  reach  our  desired 
haven. 

"  We  are  still  pleasantly  busied  with  our  Chinese,  and 
latterly  I  with  French  also. 

"The  clipper  Oriental^  some  time  since,  made  the  voyage 
from  New  York  to  Hongkong  in  eighty-one  days.  So  far, 
we  are  even  with  her,  and  the  captain's  ambition  is  to  keep 
up  all  along.  No  other  ship  has  ever  done  the  same,  and 
her  owners  have  never  sent  her  to  China  since.  So  we  all 
talk  about  equalling  the  Oriental !  We  may  do  it  and 
may  not.  I  don't  care,  for  my  part,  as  Tm  used  noyr  to 
sea  life  and  enjoy  it.  The  next  land  we  shall  see  will  be 
Java  Head.     I  hope  to  send  this  letter  from  Angler.'^ 

''June  2,  1866, 
"  When  I  wrote  last  we  were  making  250  miles  per  day 
as  our  average.  Since  then  we  have  had  calms.  We 
were  about  400  miles  south  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
The  captain  has  been  obliged  to  go  south  for  favorable 
winds.  Our  latitude  is  47°.  We  have  not  had  sun  at  the 
right  time  for  finding  longitude  for  some  days  and  guess  it 
between  20°  and  30°.  If  there  were  dangerous  islands 
here  we  might  feel  anxious.'' 


''June  3 J  1866, 
"  My  thoughts  are  of  Thomas  on  this  birthday  of  his. 
Though  I  am  far  off  from  you,  with  seas  between  us,  my 


THE  JOUENEY  TO  CHINA  63 

heart  is  there  with  you.  It  abides  there,  and  yet  it  is  here, 
aud  will  find  content,  and  home,  and  work  in  China, 
should  we  reach  her  shores. 

'^  .  .  June  eleventh, — and  I  have  not  been  on  deck 
since  I  wrote  last.  We  have  had  storms  and  squalls  con- 
tinuously. Once  in  a  while  the  stars  have  been  out,  and 
we  have  had  an  occasional  gleam  of  sunshine.  The  last 
day  of  real  sunshine  was  the  twenty-ninth  of  May.  The 
ship  was  sailing  very  slowly  and  the  captain  took  the  op- 
portunity to  fish  for  birds.  A  hook  and  line  baited  with 
pork  was  very  attractive  to  the  Cape  pigeons,  mollymawks 
and  albatrosses.  Such  a  splashing  and  fighting  in  the 
water  as  they  made  !  Three  mollymawks  were  caught, — 
beautiful  creatures,  measuring  six  feet  from  tip  to  tip, — 
and  one  albatross,  measuring  ten  feet,  three  inches.  The 
hook  caught  in  their  bills,  and  they  did  not  seem  to  be 
hurt  by  that.  Dragging  them  through  the  water  strained 
their  wings  a  little.  They  were  so  strong,  and  resisted  so 
fiercely,  when  being  drawn  up,  that  it  was  just  as  much 
as  one  man  could  do  to  get  them  on  deck.  They  fought 
us  at  first,  but  were  somewhat  helpless  when  set  on  their 
feet.  They  had  a  great  quantity  of  splendid  feathers  and 
down,  and  beautiful  heads,  with  eyes  like  doves'  in  color, 
and  very  large  and  bright.  I  felt  like  petting  them, — 
smoothing  their  graceful  heads  and  arching  necks,  but 
could  not  have  done  it  unless  I  had  first  tied  up  their  bills ! 
They  looked  brave  and  beautiful, — except  when  they  tried 
to  walk  !  They  were  seasick  in  a  very  few  moments,  and 
much  distressed,  so  the  captain  let  them  down  into  the 
water.  All  but  the  albatross  swam  off  gay ly.  It  tried  to 
fly,  but  its  wings  were  too  much  hurt.  The  next  day, 
when  the  Sam  Eussell  lay  as  ^  idle  as  a  painted  ship  upon 
a  painted  ocean,'  everybody  talked  mysteriously  about 
the  albatross  in  connection  with  the  calm.  Mr.  Grant 
had  tied  a  bit  of  board  around  its  neck  with  our  latitude 


64  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

and  longitude  scratclied  on  it.  I  wonder  if  any  sliip  will 
ever  find  our  bird. 

*'  Since  that,  we've  had  wind  and  storm  enough.  Yes- 
terday was  the  grandest  day  yet.  Waves  dashed  over  on 
every  side.  Several  times  a  wave  went  over  the  skylight. 
Our  windows  and  blinds  were  kept  shut  all  day.  If  we  had 
opened  them  we  should  have  found  ourselves  afloat.  The 
cabin  was  not  delightful,  as  there  was  no  fire  and  could 
be  none,  the  wind  being  aft.  The  cold  rains  which  shut 
us  up  altogether  ;  the  stifling  smoke  when  we  tried  to  have 
a  fire,  make  us  wish  for  an  end  to  this  part  of  the  voyage. 

**  The  waves  are  very  glorious.  Until  yesterday  the 
steward  has  said,  ^  Oh,  this  ain't  a  circumstance  ! '  Now 
he  admits  that  we  have  a  storm.  Last  night  the  fore- 
royal  yard  was  broken  by  the  gale,  and  this  morning  a 
wave  came  in  over  the  cabin  table,  as  the  door  was  hurriedly 
opened.  The  steward  has  threatened  us  that  some  day 
we  shall  have  to  go  breakfastless,  when  a  wave  has  car- 
ried off  the  food.  Fortunately  for  us  this  morning,  the 
table  wasn't  set. 

*^I  write  lying  in  my  berth.  The  wind  has  abated,  so 
that  our  blind  is  open,  but  the  window  must  still  be  shut. 
I  gasp  for  air  that  hasn't  been  breathed  again  and  again 
a  hundred  times.  Notwithstanding  all  that  is  unpleasant, 
we  feel  contented  and  happy.  These  are  but '  light  afflic- 
tions.' It  is  odd  to  read  the  first  part  of  this  letter,  and 
see  how  much  we  felt  our  discomforts  at  first. 

"I  never  tire  looking  at  these  wonderful  waves.  The 
grandeur  of  the  sea  cannot  find  complete  expression  in 
words.  Niagara  seems  like  a  child's  toy  in  my  memory 
now,  and  Minnehaha,  a  drop  of  water,  in  comparison. 
The  great  blue  waves  are  crowned  with  emerald  and 
foam,  as  they  pursue  us.  They  break  on  the  ship's  side 
with  the  sound  of  thunder,  and  she  quivers  as  if  with  fear 
or  pain.    She  seems  alive  to  me  sometiines," 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  65 

^^June  18th,  Lat.  31°,  Long,  95°. 

"Our  ship  goes  on  swimmingly  and  has  carried  us  into 
mild  weather.  We  have  a  perfect  contrast  to  our  former 
discomfort.  The  ship  is  nearly  steady,  having  just 
enough  motion  to  put  us  quietly  and  happily  to  sleep  at 
night.  During  our  stormy  weather,  I  could  not  sleep 
well  on  account  of  the  tossing  of  the  ship  and  the  feverish 
air. 

*^  Wednesday  night,  a  sea  came  over  and  in  the  cabin. 
It  did  not  strike  hard  enough  to  break  our  windows,  or 
we  should  have  been  flooded.  I  heard  a  noise  of  thunder, 
and  sprang  up  in  the  darkness,  wondering  if  the  ship  had 
struck  an  iceberg,  and  if  we  should  sink.  In  a  minute 
the  water  poured  in  around  the  window  which  I  supposed 
was  broken.  When  I  heard  the  captain  calling, 
*  Steward !  a  mop  ! '  and  growling  about  the  fellow  at  the 
wheel,  I  understood  the  case.  Mark  lit  our  lamp,  and  we 
began  to  repair  the  damage.  I  used  one  of  my  pillows  to 
sop  up  the  water  in  my  berth  ;  the  steward  handed  us  a 
mop,  and  we  (Mark,  rather)  mopped  the  floor.  I  found 
my  books  were  wet,  so  wiped  them  off,  and  wrapped 
them  in  my  shawl.  After  handing  out  our  wet  pillows 
and  bedclothes  to  the  steward,  we  went  to  sleep  again." 

'^  Tuesday,  June  19,  1866. 

**  We  expect  to  pass  Angier,  June  twenty-ninth,  if  we 
have  reasonable  progress.  I  hope  to  send  you  my  letter 
from  there.  I  think,  written  as  it  is,  on  this  thin  paper, 
it  will  not  cost  more  than  a  dollar,  or  a  dollar  and  ten 
cents  perhaps. 

^*  From  Angier,  two  weeks  more  will  take  us  to  Hong- 
kong, and  our  long  voyage  will  be  ended.  We  shall  hope 
to  reach  there  safely.  God^s  hand  protects  us.  I  am  so 
used  to  the  sea  that  I  feel  as  safe  as  if  on  land.  Un- 
doubtedly we  are  as  safe," 


66  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*^  Wednesday  J  June  27th. 

"We  have  had  little  wind,  and  the  captain  is  blue. 
Our  days  are  warm  in  this  Indian  Ocean.  On  the  poop- 
deck  the  breeze  is  cool,  and  the  nights  are  brilliant  with 
the  brightest  of  moonlight.  I  feel  sorry  that  sleep  is  a 
necessity. 

"  I  think  I  have  not  mentioned  our  Bible  class  to  you. 
We  wanted  to  have  one  composed  of  the  sailors,  but  it 
was  not  allowed,  so  we  have  had  it  among  ourselves ; 
studying  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  meeting  at  ten,  Sab- 
bath mornings. '^ 

**  Thursday^  June  28,  1866. 

"  We  are  all  on  the  lookout  for  Java  Head  and  are  ex- 
pecting to  hear  *  Land  Ho  ! '  every  minute.  How  glad 
we  shall  be  to  see  it ! 

"  Monday,  three  whales  were  seen  by  the  few  who  were 
up  early  in  the  morning.  We  were  not  so  favored. 
Grant  called  out,  ^W'ale,  w'ale  ! '  but  we  didn't  hear 
him,  and  couldn't  have  gone  to  look  at  the  '  w'ales '  if  we 
had.  Yesterday  we  saw  a  school  of  porpoises  and  lots  of 
^  boatswains.'  This  is  a  bird  with  a  very  curious  tail,  one 
feather  of  which  is  as  long  as  the  bird  itself.  Freddy 
says  they  have  '  marlin-spikes  for  tails.'  We  see  schools 
of  flying  fish  again.  Fred  gave  me  a  wing  this  morn- 
ing. 

^^Mr.  Williams  has  a  gift  in  the  story -telling  line. 
Fred  could  listen  to  his  Bible  stories  by  the  hour,  and  so 
could  I.  Other  stories,  too,  come  in  play.  I  wish  Robbie 
and  Cornelia  could  be  auditors.  It  would  please  Cornelia 
as  well  to  sit  on  the  bamboo  settee  on  the  poop-deck,  and 
hear  about  Joseph,  as  to  listen  to  Anna's  stories,  told 
while  we  were  sewing  together,  of  *  what  the  stitch  saw  in 
China.'     The  stitch  is  nearly  there,  Cornelia  ! 

"  Last  night  we  had  a  thunder-storm.     Two  of  ^  the 


THE  JOUENEY  TO  CHINA  67 

boys^  were  sent  up  to  reef  the  royal,  and  as  the  ship 
tossed,  they  were  afraid.  The  captain  had  to  threaten  to 
*  rope's  end'  them,  before  they  could  do  their  work 
properly.  In  fair  weather  the  decks  are  swept  every 
evening  and  scrubbed  every  morning.  Sometimes  they 
commence  scrubbing  the  upper  deck  by  four  in  the 
morning.  The  water  runs  off  on  the  lee  side,  or  if  the 
ship  is  nearly  upright,  on  both  sides,  so  I  have  to  close 
our  window  when  the  splashing  commences. 

^'I  have  learned  all  about  the  names  of  masts,  yards, 
sails  and  decks,  but  haven't  succeeded  in  learning  which 
are  halliards^  braces  or  sheets^  or  any  of  the  rest.  I 
wouldn't  believe  at  first  that  sheets  were  ropes  ! 

^'The  racks  for  our  plates  are  still  on  the  table,  though 
we  do  not  absolutely  need  them  now.  They  are  about 
two  inches  deep.  In  stormy  weather  another  device  is 
necessary  to  keep  the  dishes  of  food  in  place.  A  table- 
cloth is  rolled  together,  and  laid  in  scallops  between  the 
racks  for  our  plates,  and  the  dishes,  of  food  put  in  the 
scallops  to  keep  them  somewhat  still.  Once  the  castor 
was  set  down  on  the  table,  and  fell  over,  anointing  us  all 
with  oil  and  vinegar.  The  steward  carries  it  around  gen- 
erally in  rolling  weather. 

^*I  ought  to  have  told  Eobbie  and  Cornelia  how  Fred 
was  scared  when  we  crossed  the  equator.  Neptune  is 
supposed  to  come  on  board  ships  when  near  the  line  and 
shave  the  heads  of  any  men  or  boys  who  have  not 
previously  crossed  it.  He  gives  them  a  bath  in  sea  water, 
and  torments  them  generally,  until  they  treat  him  or  give 
money.  The  sailors  who  have  already  crossed  the  line 
help  him,  and  sometimes  novices  have  rough  usage. 
Fred  was  well  frightened,  and  Smith  somewhat,  by  the 
tales  of  Neptune's  probable  deeds.  When  the  time  came, 
the  sailors  set  a  tarred  barrel  on  fire  and  threw  it  over- 
board, calling  Fred  to  look  at  Neptune's  boat.    He  cried 


68  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

with  fear,  but  when  he  saw  the  light  rapidly  falling  be- 
hind us,  decided  to  laugh  with  the  rest 

*'  When  we  were  south  of  the  line,  we  began  to  look  for 
the  Southern  Cross  and  Magellan's  Clouds.  Many  of  the 
constellations  of  the  JS^orthern  Hemisphere  are  finer,  to 
my  eye,  than  the  Cross.  The  Clouds  are  very  fine  clusters 
of  nebulae,  and  look  like  circular  sections  of  the  Milky 
Way,  with  the  larger  stars  taken  out.  One  night  not 
long  ago,  the  gentlemen  saw  two  of  Jupiter's  moons  with 
an  opera  glass.  None  of  us  had  any  map  of  the  heavens 
accessible,  so  that  we  missed  recognizing  the  many  bril- 
liant stars  which  looked  at  us  night  after  night  with  un- 
familiar faces." 

^^June  29th. 
*^Not  past  Angier  yet,  nor  have  we  seen  land.  There 
is  a  strong  current  against  us,  running  out  through  the 
Straits  of  Sunda.  It  is  so  strong  that  the  breeze  we  had 
last  night  could  not  even  keep  us  in  statu  quo.  We  were 
forty  miles  to  leeward  of  Java  Head  yesterday  noon, 
and  this  morning  are  no  nearer.  In  fact  we  lost  two 
miles  during  the  night,  and  if  we  had  had  no  wind,  we 
should  have  lost  thirty.  A  heavy  thunder-storm  came 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  The  captain  and  mate 
giving  orders ;  which  the  men  repeated  ;  the  thunder 
drowning  all  other  sounds  for  a  moment  at  a  time  ;  the 
laughter  of  several  on  the  quarter-deck  ; — mingled  at 
first  in  my  dreams,  and  then  waked  me.  *Haul  taut 
your  weather  braces  ! '     '  Haul  taut  your  topsail  sheets  !  ^ 

*  Haul  taut  the  weather  braces,  sir  ! '  ^  Haul  taut  the  top- 
sail sheets,  sir  ! '     ^  Ahoy,  ahoy,  ahoy,  a  ! '     ^  Belay  that ! ' 

*  Belay,  sir  ! '     '  What  are  you  doing  forward  there  % ' 

*  Ahoy,  aha,  ahoy  ! '  ^  Decker !  Go  up  the  miz- 
zen  royal ! '  *  Ahoy,  aha,  ahoy  ! '  ^  Go  out  on  the 
crotchet-yard   arm  ! '      *  Screw    down    these  ventilators 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  69 

here  ! '  Imagine  all  this  said  in  stentorian  tones  and  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  emphasized  by  frequent  claps  of 
thunder,  and  laughter,  filling  in  a  pause  that  came  but 
once  J — and  you  have  a  picture  of  the  five  minutes  before 
the  rain.  Then  the  gentlemen,  who  had  rushed  up  to 
help,  came  down  in  mirthful  mood.  The  captain  had  put 
our  fellow  passenger.  Smith,  at  the  wheel.  Smith  the 
timorous.  Smith  the  torpid  !  It  was  so  comical  a  sight 
that  Mark  had  to  make  some  commemorative  lines. 
Here  they  are, — all  a  burlesque,  of  course. — Smith  thinks 
them  fine ! 

"  *  Smith  at  the  Wheel 

'''June  28,  1866 

"  *  Homer  sang  of  Achilles,  Virgil  of  ^neas,  and  I  of 
Smith  ! 

**  *  The  faint,  stmggling  moonbeams  to  me  did  reveal 
The  face  of  a  hero,  all  glowing  with  zeal. 
Sam  Russell  seemed  conscious,  in  timbers  and  keel, 
That  a  master  hand  held  her, — brave  Smith  at  the  wheel ! 

'*  *  The  lightning's  fierce  glance  and  the  thunder's  loud  roar 
Made  timid  ones  shake  in  their  shoes  ever  more  ; 
But  with  muscles  of  iron,  and  fingers  of  steel. 
Stood  firm  at  his  post, — brave  Smith  at  the  wheel ! 

**  *  When  fierce  tempests  howl  on  the  billowy  main, 

While  tall  masts  are  bending,  and  staunch  timbers  strain, 

Some  manage  the  sails,  and  some  hold  the  reel ; 

Good  captain,  we  beg  you  !    Place  Smith  at  the  wheel ! 

**  *  You  may  think  us  officious  in  this  our  request, 

But  his  excellent  traits  can't  by  words  be  expressed; 

He  is  good  at  a  nap,  he  is  good  at  a  meal. 

But  there's  one  thing  most  certain,  he's  good  at  the  wheel. 

"  *  For  two  days  we've  stood  and  have  fastened  our  gaze 
Where  we  think  Java  Head  lies  hid  in  the  haze ; 
Our  chickens  are  gone,  and  our  pigs  no  more  squeal, 
But  we'll  do  well  enough  while  we've  Smith  at  the  wheel  I 


70  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

** '  We  know  that  Bill  Doughty  is  skillful  and  true, 
When  no  danger  threatens,  we  think  he  will  do ; 
But  you  cannot  imagine  what  safety  we  feel 
If  we  have  the  assurance  that  Smith's  at  the  wheel ! 

"  *  All  through  the  long  hours  of  the  tropical  night, 
Among  the  strange  fancies  that  haunted  my  sight, 
A  form  evermore  cross  my  vision  would  steal ; — 
It  was  the  slight  figure  of  Smith  at  the  wheel ! ' 

*^  As  they  came  down  the  companionway,  Smith  says, 
*How  quick  we  mariners  come  down.'  'We've  left  the 
*'  ancient  mariner  "  to  take  care  of  the  ship,'  says  Mark, 
meaning  the  captain,  as  he  is  frequently  called  *  the  old 
man '  by  Smith  and  the  others." 

^^  Afternoon, 
"  ^Land  ho  !  to  leeward  ! '  said  Lyman  a  few  minutes 
ago.  We  went  up  to  look  at  a  cloud  eighteen  miles  off, 
which  is  said  to  be  Java  Head.  I  looked  for  a  minute, 
and  came  down  to  write  again.  ...  In  half  an  hour 
the  cloud  looked  like  land ;  in  a  few  minutes  more  it  was 
land  !  We  have  done  little  else  but  sit  on  deck  and  watch 
the  new  revelations  of  beauty  which  grow  brighter  mo- 
mentarily. There  is  a  rock  off  Java  Head  which  looks 
like  a  bird,  which  the  captain  pointed  out  to  us.  Soon 
we  could  see  the  rocks  plainly,  and  the  green  moss  and 
shrubs  which  cover  them.  Farther  along  there  were 
trees, — real  palm  trees!  With  Grant's  opera  glass  we 
could  see  vines  on  some  of  the  trees,  and  Fred  thought  he 
could  see  monkeys  with  cocoanuts  in  their  cheeks.  He 
got  a  handful  of  salt  to  put  on  the  tail  of  the  rock  bird 
which  I  mentioned,  and  started  to  get  some  for  the 
monkey's  tails,  but  we  persuaded  him  to  wait  till  the 
ship  neared  land  !  Oh,  it  was  so  good  to  see  land  !  We 
have  a  fine  breeze  and  go  on  swiftly.  The  moon  is  shin- 
ing now,  and  I  must  go  up  and  have  a  walk.    I  have  fin- 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  Tl 

ished  my  stockings  this  evening.     The  knitting-needles 
have  been  quite  tarnished  from  exposure  to  the  salt  air. 

*' Henry,  I  wonder  if  you  will  find  this  letter  in  the 
office  before  your  birthday  in  September.  I  hope  so, 
and  think  you  will  all  be  glad,  as  we  are,  that  God  has 
prospered  us  so  much,  and  that  He  has  made  our  voyage 
so  pleasant. 

"  As  I  think  of  putting  this  in  a  thin  envelope  to  send 
from  Angler  if  we  have  opportunity,  I  will  only  write, 

^*  Love  to  all,  from  your 

"Isabella." 

^^6:  SO  A.  M.J  JuneSah. 

'^Sailing  along  nicely  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda,  and 
about  thirty  miles  from  Angier.  We  have  just  been  up 
on  deck,  counting  the  native  boats.  There  are  fourteen 
to  be  seen  j  tiny  boats  with  large  sails,  each  one  looking 
like  a  nautilus. 

"  Let  me  give  you  Mark's  description  of  the  day. 

"  ^  We  could  scarcely  keep  our  minds  on  Chinese  this 
morning  after  the  cry  of  "  Land  ho  ! "  When  through, 
the  captain  told  us  that  the  Philistines  were  upon  us,  and 
looking  out,  we  saw  two  boats  coming  at  full  speed.  Each 
was  manned  by  six  oarsmen,  half  naked,  with  handker- 
chiefs on  their  heads  (for  Eobinson  Crusoe  hats),  pulling 
away  most  manfully.^  (They  kept  time  by  uttering  con- 
stantly, sharp,  quick,  guttural  cries,  ^  A-e,  o-e,  a-e,  o-e  !  ^ 
or  '  Ah-e,  o-e,  ah-e  ! '  something  after  the  fashion  of  the 
cry  or  grunt  which  Dakota  women  make  when  dancing.) 
*  We  gazed  with  interest  on  these  Javanese.  They  are 
about  five  feet  high,  quite  dark  in  complexion.  Whole 
boat-loads  boarded  the  ship  on  Sabbath  morning,  as  we 
crept  slowly  up  to  Angier.  One  could  not  help  feeling 
sad  to  see  them  as  they  offered  their  wares,  with  gesticu- 
lations and  outstretched  hands.     They  know  no  Sabbath. 


72  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

But  they  liave  souls.    Java,  some  day,  will  belong  to 
Christ.'  " 

"  Thursday,  July  12,  1866, 
"  We  are  now  in  the  China  Sea,  about  290  miles  from 
Hongkong.  I  felt  such  disappointment  in  not  sending 
my  letter  from  Angier  that  I've  not  had  the  heart  to 
write  since.  We  had  such  light  wind  that  we  did  not 
reach  Angier  till  nearly  noon  on  Sabbath.  We  felt  that 
we  ought  not  to  send  our  letters  out  on  that  day,  but  the 
disappointment  was  hard  to  bear.  I  had  been  counting 
so  much  on  your  hearing  from  us  a  month  earlier  than 
you  would  expect !  Now  we  must  wait  till  we  reach 
Hongkong. 

**  July  third  we  saw  many  beautiful  islands  and  a  wreck. 
The  great  frame  of  an  iron  ship  lay  stranded  on  the  white 
sand-beach.  It  was  wrecked  on  a  rock  six  feet  under 
water.  We  passed  within  two  miles  of  the  rock,  but  as 
it  was  daylight,  and  the  breeze  favorable,  we  were  in  no 
danger.  Shortly  afterwards,  we  entered  the  China  Sea. 
The  strait  which  connects  the  two  has  three  channels. 
Macclesfield  was  the  one  through  which  we  passed. 
After  passing  Gaspar  Straits  and  an  island  of  the  same 
name,  the  really  dangerous  part  of  our  voyage  was  over. 
The  Java  Sea  is  full  of  sand-banks,  shoals,  and  sunken 
rocks.  ^  The  water  in  the  Strait  of  Sunda  and  in  the  Java 
Sea  was  green, — very  different  from  the  deep  blue  of  the 
ocean.  Now  that  we  are  in  the  China  Sea  it  is  deep  blue 
again. 

"  On  the  Fourth  we  crossed  the  equator  atone  o'clock  ; 
the  two  cannon  were  fired  off ;  we  were  treated  to  rasp- 
berry syrup  and  sponge  cake,  and  wound  up  the  day  by 
the  light  of  a  few  rockets,  and  the  singing  of  the  *  Star 
Spangled  Banner.' 

*  The  Samuel  Russell  was  afterwards  wrecked  in  Gaspar  Straits. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  73 

"  We  have  very  sudden  squalls  of  wind  and  rain  here 
in  the  China  Sea.  The  sailors  have  to  fly  around  until 
they  have  taken  in  the  studdingsails  (*  stunsails/  they 
are  called),  and  have  furled  the  royals.  If  the  wind 
blows  very  hard,  the  topgallant  ('tugallant')  sails  are 
lowered  but  not  furled. 

"On  Sabbath,  the  eighth,  Mark  preached  about 
Naaman  the  Syrian.  The  captain  was  there,  and  most 
of  the  passengers  and  sailors. 

"Last  week  the  sailors  holy-stoned  the  main  deck. 
This  week  they  have  oiled  it ;  have  painted  the  outside 
of  the  cabin  and  the  quarter-deck  ;  have  tarred  the  rope 
ladder,  and  to-day  are  holy-stoning  the  poop-deck. 
Such  a  noise  over  our  heads !  I  feel  as  if  I  should  go 
crazy  !  Ship  cleaning  is  decidedly  unpleasant.  Yester- 
day Lyman  and  Bancroft  touched  some  of  the  new  paint 
by  accident  and  had  to  catch  it !  Mrs.  Doolittle  and  I 
have  done  the  same,  and  the  captain  smiled  graciously 
on  us.  He  takes  house-cleaning  as  hard  as  any  woman, 
and  is  very  irritable.  His  rooms  and  the  cabins  have 
been  cleaned.  Our  staterooms  happily  are  left  un- 
touched ! " 

"  July  13,  1866. 

"We  crawl  towards  Hongkong  at  the  rate  of  two 
miles  an  hour,  and  have  given  up  hoping  to  mail  our  let- 
ters this  week.  We  are  about  eighty  miles  this  side,  and 
with  any  progress  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  worth 
the  name,  we  would  have  been  there.  But  we  have  been 
so  favored  throughout  the  voyage,  that  there  is  no 
ground  for  complaint.  Only  we  feel  a  little  disappointed 
about  our  letters. 

"I  am  sewing  instead  of  studying  these  days.  I  have 
made  my  summer  Balmoral,  and  the  skirt  to  my  corn- 
colored  dress,  and  have  cut  out  my  pink  calico.     It  is 


74  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

rather   of   a   pleasure    to    do    something  of   the   kind 
again. 

*'^  A  few  days  ago  while  we  were  at  dinner,  a  school  of 
dolphins  passed  at  the  stern  of  the  ship.  There  were  as 
many  as  a  thousand  of  them,  the  captain  said.  Many  of 
them  were  four  feet  long,  and  they  were  quite  brilliant  in 
color. 

*^  We  have  had  a  good  deal  of  laughter  over  Smithes 
chickens  these  days.  He  bought  some  very  young  ones 
in  Angier,  and  they  have  gone  by  the  name  of  the 
^humming-birds^  among  the  sailors.  The  captain  ob- 
jected to  his  having  them  cooked  here,  saying  that  Mr. 
Low  was  able  to  furnish  the  Sam  Bussell  with  all  necessary 
food.  Bancroft  and  the  rest  joked  Smith  about  having 
to  carry  half  a  dozen  chickens  in  each  hand  when  going 
through  the  streets  of  Hongkong.  But  nobody  took 
care  of  them,  and  when  the  tiny  things  were  round  the 
deck,  they  were  trod  on,  one  by  one,  till  but  three  were 
left,  of  which  Smith  had  one  for  breakfast  the  other  day. 

^^  When  in  the  Java  Sea,  we  passed  not  far  from  where 
the  Alabama  commenced  pursuit  of  the  Contest  Captain 
Lucas  showed  us  the  places  on  the  chart,  telling  us  all 
about  it.'^ 

* '  Saturday  J  July  15th. 

"I  have  been  packing  this  evening,  and  have  every- 
thing ready  to  lock  up,  so  that  we  can  leave  them  when 
we  go  to  church  in  Hongkong,  to-morrow  !  We  took  on 
a  Chinese  pilot  this  afternoon  at  four  o'clock.  The  pilot 
boat  had  two  odd  little  flags,  one  red  and  white,  which 
looked  like  a  sweet  pea  blossom  when  the  boat  came 
near  enough  for  us  to  distinguish  colors.  It  was  the 
Chinese  pilot  flag.  The  other,  a  square,  blue  flag  with 
a  round,  white  spot  in  the  centre,  is  the  universal  pilot 
flag,  ^No.  8,'  or  *Blue  Peter,'  by  name.  Our  pilot 
came  aboard  with  his  queue  hanging  nearly  to  his  feet. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  75 

He  asked  twenty-five  dollars,  but  the  captain  answered 
resolutely,  '  Ten  ! '  Captain  Lucas  has  been  into  Hong- 
kong so  many  times  that  he  doesn't  really  care  to  have  a 
pilot,  only  that  it  is  customary,  and  Low  and  Company 
would  probably  prefer  that  he  should.  *  You  no  takee 
ten,  I  no  wantee,'  says  the  captain  firmly.  ^Cap'n, 
fifteen  ! '  ^  No  ! '  says  the  captain.  Mr.  Pilot  marches 
off,  and  commences  to  climb  down  the  side  of  the  ship, 
all  the  time  looking  around  and  studying  furtively  the 
captain's  expression.  The  captain  turns  away,  and  Mr. 
Pilot  calls  out,  *  Cap'n  !  Twelve  dollars ! '  A  pause. 
*  Cap'n  !    I  takee  in  for  ten  ! ' 

*^I  have  just  been  up  to  see  Jupiter's  moon,  and  saw  a 
nice  little  star  by  the  aid  of  a  glass.     Good-night. 

**Your 

"Isabella." 

The  good  ship  Samuel  Bussell  anchored  in  Hongkong 
harbor  on  Sabbath  morning,  the  sixteenth  of  July. 
Hastening  from  the  ship  to  the  nearest  Protestant  church, 
the  missionary  party  found  themselves  the  first  arrivals 
among  the  worshippers.  Mr.  Williams  afterwards  com- 
memorated this  experience  in  lines  written  for  his 
children. 

**  In  Hongkong's  port,  on  Sabbath  morn, 
We  gazed  upon  the  shore ; 
Our  voyage,  days  one  hundred  long, 
At  length  was  safely  o'er. 

"  To  worship  God  we  were  intent; 
By  sounds  our  heads  were  whirled. 
Through  narrow  streets  our  steps  we  bent, 
Dropped  in  another  world. 

**  The  worshippers  we  had  to  blame, 
We  left  them  in  the  lurch ; 
Though  fifteen  thousand  miles  we  came, 
We  beat  them  all  to  church  I " 


76  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

At  Hongkong  they  were  entertained  at  the  Bishop's 
residence,  which  seemed  like  a  paradise,  with  tropical 
vegetation  all  about.  And  here  the  home  letters  were 
mailed  at  last.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest,  in  comparing 
the  postal  rates  of  that  day  and  this, — to  read  the  note, — 
**  Only  three  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  for  mailing  our 
letters." 

From  Hongkong,  up  the  Pearl  Eiver  to  Canton,  and 
on  to  Shanghai  and  Tientsin,  they  journeyed.  Some 
memories  written  later  give  glimpses  of  their  impres- 
sions : — ^^  At  Canton  how  narrow  and  crowded  the  streets ! 
how  clean  and  blue  the  people  !  We  visit  temples,  in 
one  of  which,  sacred  hogs  wallow  in  common  mire ;  we  go 
through  magnificent  bronze  and  china  stores ;  we  visit 
hills  on  whose  southern  exposure  are  countless  graves; 
and  some  of  our  party  pass  through  the  leper  village. 
But  our  chief  time  is  given  to  visiting  schools  and  mak- 
ing inquiries  about  hospital  and  other  missionary  work. 
.  .  .  July  takes  us  to  I^ingpo,  where  we  are  again 
cheered  by  the  progress  and  growth  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
When  we  reach  Shanghai  under  a  burning  sun,  we  re- 
member who  it  is  who  has  promised  to  be  a  shelter,  *  a 
shadow  from  the  heat.'  I  see  our  steamer  slowly  work- 
ing up  the  Pei  Ho.  Here  is  Tientsin,  a  vast  city.  It  is 
to  be  our  home  for  a  time.'' 

^^  Tientsin,  China,  Sept.  18,  1866, 
"  Dear  Alfred  and  Maey  : 

"  It  is  difficult  to  realize  that  I  am  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  world  from  you.  I  don't  feel  as  though  I  were 
far  off,  not  farther  off  than  Minnesota  used  to  seem  from 
Illinois.  I  shall  not  be  likely  to  come  back  soon,  but  if  I 
were  to  go,  I  should  not  dread  the  voyage  if  we  had  as 
good  a  ship  and  as  experienced  a  captain  as  we  had  when 
coming  here.     I  think  I  should  enjoy  another  sea  voyage 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  17 

even  more  than  I  did  the  first.  There  were  many  things 
unpleasant  about  ship  life,  but  I  should  know  what  to  ex- 
pect, and  being  forewarned  is  to  be  forearmed,  according 
to  the  proverb.  There  were  a  great  many  thiDgs  which 
were  very  pleasant.  The  pictures  of  the  sea  which  I 
have  in  my  memory  are  worth  more  to  me  than  all  the 
ocean  pictures  ever  painted.  They  far  overbalance  all  the 
discomforts  of  the  voyage. 

"  If  I  were  an  invalid,  I  cannot  say  that  I  should  fancy 
a  voyage  to  America  by  the  way  we  came.  When  the 
railway  across  the  western  territory  of  the  United  States 
is  finished,  it  will  be  a  nice  excursion  trip  from  New 
York  to  Peking.  A  trip  by  steamer  from  San  Francisco 
to  Shanghai  would  be  very  pleasant.  At  any  rate,  it  will 
be  nice  when  oar  letters  won't  be  more  than  five  or  six 
weeks  old,  instead  of  ten  or  twelve. 

*^  I  don't  like  very  well  such  thin  paper  as  we  are  us- 
ing, except  when  postage  comes  to  be  paid.  Before  long 
it  will  be  so  much  less  that  we  shall  not  need  to  use  such 
gossamer  sheets.  It  has  always  been  a  sort  of  pleasure  to 
me  to  scratch  out  carefully  my  mistakes  in  writing, — a 
recreation,  when  my  brain  didn't  work  freely.  I  don't 
have  it  any  longer,  and  '  Othello's  occupation '  was  no 
greater  loss  than  this  of  mine  ! 

"  I  haven't  told  you  the  news.  Chieh,  a  native  helper, 
came  to  Mr.  Stanley  last  week,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes 
begged  him  to  leave  Tientsin,  saying  that  there  was  a 
plot  throughout  the  empire  to  massacre  the  foreigners  in 
ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  days.  This  need  not  alarm  you,  for 
if  there  is  anything  of  it,  you  would  hear  by  the  Eussian 
telegraph  before  this  letter  can  reach  you.  Nor  need  it  be 
cause  of  alarm  in  any  case,  for  God  will  keep  us.  ^  Un- 
less the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in 
vain,'  we  have  said  often  to  each  other  at  night  when 
hearing  the  watchman  on  his  rounds.    The  difficulty  has 


78  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

arisen  at  Peking  on  account  of  the  building  of  a  cathedral 
by  the  French  priests.  The  spire  overlooked  the  Em- 
peror's grounds,  and  there  was  great  excitement.  Sol- 
diers went  up  from  here  in  great  numbers  to  tear  the 
spire  and  the  whole  building  down.'' 

^^  October  20,  1866, 
" .  .  .  The  disease  and  wretchedness  about  us  are 
hard  to  see.  I  feel  sometimes  as  if  it  were  wrong  for  us 
to  live  in  comfort  while  there  is  so  much  misery  which 
might  be  alleviated.  In  our  daily  walks  we  see  numbers 
of  poor,  of  maimed,  halt  and  blind,  in  all  the  streets  and 
lanes  of  the  city.  They  knock  their  heads  on  the  ground 
to  every  passer-by,  hoping  to  have  a  cash  or  two  given 
them.  Of  course  their  aim  is  to  look  as  miserable  as  pos- 
sible. Their  minds  are  in  worse  case  than  their  bodies. 
*  Darkness  which  can  be  felt'  They  have  no  hope  for 
this  life  nor  for  the  life  to  come.  One  poor  old  woman 
in  Shanghai  had  been  attending  the  Christian  services  until 
she  lost  all  faith  in  Chinese  superstition,  but  before  she 
had  made  up  her  mind  to  be  a  Christian  she  fell  sick. 
She  was  much  troubled  about  her  future  state,  and  con- 
sulted the  missionary.  ^  I  no  kneel  to  English  God ;  no 
can  go  top-side.  I  no  k'o  t'ou  to  Chinese  josh ;  no  can 
go  bottom-side.     Where  I  go  ?' 

*^We  are  expecting  the  mail  constantly.  Our  papers 
are  even  more  interesting  than  they  were  at  home.  We 
have  the  Congregationalist  and  Song  Messenger ;  Mr. 
Stanley  the  Independent  and  Christian  JBierald  ;  Mr.  Doo- 
little,  the  New  TorJc  Times  and  China  Mail.  As  for 
magazines,  they're  not  much  good,  coming  only  once 
in  six  months  or  so,  by  ship.  I  don't  know  about  con- 
tinuing the  Song  Messenger.  It's  nice  to  get  it  and  know 
a  little  still  about  music  and  musical  affairs,  but  whether 
or  no  it  wouldn^t  be  my  duty  to  spend  the  time  on 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  79 

Chinese,  I  haven't  decided.  One  mustn't  wear  oneself 
out  by  keeping  at  one  thing  always.  Still  I  don't  think 
I'm  in  much  danger  of  that. 

".  .  .  We  are  beginning  to  feel  as  if  we  would 
like  to  know  where  we  are  to  be  stationed.  I  shouldn't 
be  surprised  if  we  started  for  Kalgan  in  a  few  weeks. 
Nor  shall  I  be  if  we  stay  here.     .     o     o" 

'^  February  11,  1867. 

" .  .  .  "We  have  had  a  mission  meeting.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gulick  came  from  Kalgan,  and  Mr.  Blodget  and 
Mr.  Goodrich  from  Peking.  After  the  devotional  meet- 
ings, three  days  were  given  to  business  of  which  there  was 
any  quantity  on  hand.  It  was  decided  that  Mr.  Williams 
and  I  should  go  to  Kalgan  for  one  year." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  were  most  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  as  their  co-workers  in  these 
first  years  at  Kalgan.  Dr.  John  T.  Gulick  is  now  well 
known  as  the  missionary  scientist  of  his  age.  Eomanes, 
the  disciple  of  Darwin,  called  Dr.  Gulick  "  the  most  pro- 
found Darwinian  thinker  of  post-Darwinian  days,"  and 
through  Dr.  Gulick' s  Christian  scholarship  was  led  back 
from  atheism  to  belief  in  God. 

''Peking,  Feb,  25,  1867. 

^'Having  had  my  first  experience  of  travel  in  China, 
let  me  tell  you  something  of  the  journey  from  Tientsin  to 
Peking. 

^*Mr.  Williams  and  I  left  Tientsin  in  company  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick,  our  future  associates,  on  Thursday 
21st,  the  anniversary  of  our  marriage. 

"  Arrangements  were  made  to  have  carts  come  for  our 
luggage  Wednesday  morning,  so  that  there  would  be  time 
for  them  to  reach  Peking  before  the  Sabbath,  but  the  day 
passed  and  no  carts  came. 

"The  '  go-between '  said  the  carts  were  refractory  and 
unreasonable,  but  the  truth  probably  was^  that  while  he 


80  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

had  contracted  to  send  us  two  baggage  carts  and  one  pas- 
senger cart  for  20,500  cash, — about  twenty-one  Mexican 
dollars, — he  was  trying  to  make  the  carters  go  for  half 
that  sum. 

^'  The  evening  passed  and  we  felt  disappointment  at  be- 
ing obliged  to  defer  our  journey  till  after  Sunday.  But 
at  midnight  the  carts  came,  and  were  loaded  and  started 
off  by  one  o^  clock.  They  probably  travelled  the  rest  of 
the  night  and  till  ten  or  eleven  the  next  morning.  This  is 
the  Chinese  style  of  doing  the  thing.  A  carter  don't  care 
how  early  he  is  up,  if  he  can  stop  at  four  or  five  in  the  af- 
ternoon, feed  his  mules  and  himself  and  be  asleep  by  dark. 
One  reason  is  that  robbers  are  bolder  in  the  early  part  of 
the  night  than  towards  morning. 

^'  Thursday  morning  my  cart  was  at  the  gate,  the  horses 
and  Mrs.  Gulick's  donkey  saddled,  and  I  crept  into  the 
cart  quite  wondering  what  my  new  method  of  locomotion 
would  be  like.  ^Yih,'  said  the  driver,  and  we  were  off 
on  a  trot,  jolting  over  the  rough  stone  pavement. 

^^  The  Chinese  carts  are  very  heavily  and  clumsily  made. 
The  wheel  tires  are  put  on  in  pieces  about  half  a  foot  in 
length,  nailed  with  large  spikes,  with  which  also  the  wood 
of  the  wheel  is  filled  to  keep  it  from  splitting.  The 
covered  part  of  the  cart  is  generally  about  four  feet 
long,  two  wide  and  three  feet  high.  At  the  back  of  mine 
a  trunk  was  strapped,  on  the  front  board  the  driver's 
bedding.  Inside  there  was  but  a  tiny  den  left  for  me, 
as  valise,  provision  box,  bandbox,  baskets,  a  feather-bed, 
two  pairs  of  pillows,  some  blankets,  comforts,  shawls,  be- 
sides a  goat-skin  rug  were  arranged  to  make  my  ride  easy, 
if  that  was  possible.  One  gets  terrible  jolts  when  riding 
in  an  empty  cart,  but  mine  was  rather  too  well  filled. 
The  driver  was  a  fat,  good-natured  fellow  with  back 
so  broad  that,  except  when  he  walked,  I  had  only  an  oc- 
casional glimpse  of  anything  beside  his  dirty  gray  gown* 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  81 

'*  The  mule  in  the  shafts  did  all  the  work  while  the 
other,  harnessed  by  long  ropes  to  the  right  side  of  the 
cart,  was  merely  ornamental.  It  was  quite  careful  to 
keep  the  ropes  slack.  If  the  driver  touched  it  with  the 
whip,  by  mistake,  it  pranced  about  and  broke  the  ropes. 
The  driver  then  said  *  Yih,  yih,^  in  a  soothing  way,  sprang 
from  his  seat,  patted  the  forward  mule,  twisted  the  ropes 
together  so  that  they  lasted  for  a  few  minutes,  said  *  Yih  ^ 
with  a  lively  tone,  and  presently  went  through  the  same 
program  again.  We  made  no  very  great  progress,  but 
I  rather  liked  occasionally  to  have  a  look  at  the  travellers 
whom  we  met.  There  were  all  sorts  of  odd-looking  peo- 
ple and  things.  Now  there  came  along  a  half  dozen  fat, 
self-satisfied  men  on  tiny  donkeys,  and  a  fellow  on  a  queer 
sort  of  pack-saddle,  which  looked  like  a  sawhorse. 
Then  some  military  Chinese  jolting  uncomfortably  on 
horses,  and  numbers  of  carts,  from  each  of  which  peeped 
four  or  five  faces  eager  for  a  sight  of  the  foreigners. 

^^The  Chinese  seem  to  be  made  of  gutta-percha,  as  an 
indefinite  number  can  get  entirely  out  of  sight  in  one  of 
these  carts.  If  there  is  anything  to  see  out  come  their 
heads  like  wads  from  a  pop -gun. 

*^  The  driver's  whip  was  quite  a  curiosity.  A  slender 
cane  handle  six  or  seven  feet  long,  spliced  loosely  in  the 
middle  and  a  small  cord  for  a  lash,  seemed  more  for  orna- 
ment than  use.  The  drivers  of  our  baggage  carts  had 
still  more  surprising  ones ;  they  looked  like  fishing-rods 
and  lines. 

*^  We  stopped  for  lunch  at  an  inn,  ordering  mutton, 
and  hot  water  for  our  tea.  A  low  table  was  set  on  the 
kang, — or  Chinese  couch, — our  rugs  laid  at  its  sides,  and 
we  sat  down  to  try  the  flavor  of  mutton  hashed  up  with 
a  kind  of  garlic  which  has  so  strong  a  smell  that,  com- 
paratively speaking,  onions  have  none. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  ate  with  chop-sticks,  as  they 


82  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

had  learned  to  do  so  tolerably  well,  but  the  rest  of  us 
preferred  the  barbarous  foreign  style,  as  far  as  we  could 
follow  it.  We  had  provided  ourselves  knives  and 
teaspoons,  but  no  forks.  Another  proof  of  our  foreign 
stupidity  was,  that  our  taste  was  better  suited  by  the  con- 
tents of  a  tin  box  filled  with  such  barbarian  follies  as 
mince  pie,  cold  chicken,  bread  and  butter,  than  by  celes- 
tial food. 

"  That  night  we  had  further  experience  of  life  at  a 
Chinese  inn.  Driving  into  the  large  courtyard  we  were 
shown  rooms,  into  which  our  bedding  and  other  things 
were  carried.  Then  Mr.  Gulick  shouted  ^  Innkeeper  ! ' 
'  Aye  ! '  ^  Bring  face-washing  water  ! '  '  Aye  !  ^  ^  Pre- 
pare fire — heat  the  kangs  ! '  ^  Aye ! '  '  Bring  boiling 
water !  ^  ^  Aye  !  ^  Presently  a  servant  came  in  with  two 
small  tubs  of  warm  water,  and  setting  them  on  the  brick 
floor  returned  to  bring  a  teakettle  of  hot  water  for  tea, 
and  an  armful  of  dry  weeds  and  sorghum  stalks,  with 
which  he  made  fires  in  the  small  fireplaces  under  the 
kangs.  Air  passages  are  built  through  these,  which  gen- 
erally connect  with  chimneys.  In  Peking  and  its 
neighborhood,  however,  none  of  the  houses  have  chim- 
neys at  all. 

^'  When  the  kangs  are  not  well  built  they  smoke  badly, 
as  ours  did  that  first  night.  So  we  padlocked  the  door, 
and  sat  in  Mr.  Gulick' s  room  till  ready  for  sleep.  By 
that  time  the  fire  was  out,  and  the  room  partly  cleared 
from  smoke. 

**  We  thought  our  feather-bed  very  nice  at  first,  but  the 
kang  was  quite  warm  and  heated  the  bed  so  that  by  mid- 
night we  were  perspiring  uncomfortably.  I^ext  morning 
I  was  as  stiff  as  a  bear  coming  out  of  winter  quarters,  and 
when  we  started  before  daybreak,  Mr.  Williams  had  to 
put  me  in  the  cart,  for  I  could  hardly  walk. 

^^  The  morning  was  very  long  and  wearisome.     By  af- 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  83 

ternoon  I  was  able  to  ride  a  little  on  the  donkey,  which  I 
found  to  have  an  easier  gait  than  any  horse  I  ever  rode. 
Mr.  Williams  took  my  place  in  the  cart,  and  was  as  sick 
as  when  at  sea  for  a  while.  A  friend  of  ours  had  a  worse 
experience.  Starting  to  Peking  in  a  cart  she  was  so  sick 
that  she  had  to  walk  half  the  way,  and  ride  on  a  shaft 
the  rest  of  the  time. 

"  As  I  had  opportunity  to  see  very  little  of  the  scenery 
between  Tientsin  and  Peking,  I  have  the  impression  that 
there  is  but  little  to  see,  especially  in  the  winter.  Almost 
the  whole  country  is  under  cultivation.  Here  and  there, 
among  the  fields,  are  graveyards.  Frequently  these  are 
walled,  and  there  are  always  many  evergreens  in  and 
around  them.  These  are  really  beautiful,  and  are  a  great 
comfort  to  the  eye,  after  seeing  such  stretches  of  bare, 
yellow  fields. 

^*  One  or  two  miles  apart  are  the  villages  of  farmers. 
These  are  walled  with  mud  or  sorghum  stalks,  or  both. 
The  stalk  fences  are  pretty,  sometimes,  as  the  Chinese 
have  many  ingenious  ways  of  weaving  the  stalks  together. 
Often  one  of  these  fences  is  plastered  with  mud,  and  when 
a  coating  of  cement  is  added  the  wall  is  strong,  and  looks 
quite  respectable.  The  farmers  live  in  these  villages  for 
mutual  protection  against  robbers,  and  they  have  no 
houses  on  their  farms.  The  fields  are  not  fenced,  but  are 
marked  out  by  ridges  of  earth,  or  sometimes  ditches. 

*'  We  made  a  long  journey  the  next  day — forty  miles — 
and  were  rather  late  in  the  evening.  Just  before  reaching 
the  village  where  we  were  to  stop,  the  driver  fell  asleep, 
and  the  mules  took  an  old  road  which  had  been  worn 
away  by  the  river.  Over  went  the  cart  and  mules  on  the 
ice.  The  driver  had  time  to  spring  off  and  I  to  change 
my  position  so  that  the  fall  did  not  hurt  me.  The  cart 
turned  almost  bottom  upwards.  The  ice  didn't  break,  as 
I  feared  it  would,  but  there  were  some  inches  of  water  on 


84  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

it.  I  braced  myself  so  that  my  hands  only  were  in 
water.  Mr.  Williams  rode  up  hurriedly,  calling  out,  ^Are 
you  hurt  ?  ^  and  was  much  relieved  to  hear  a  faint  *  All 
right '  come  from  under  the  bed,  pillows,  etc.  The  driver 
loosed  the  mules,  and  Mr.  Williams  came  to  my  assist- 
ance. Finding  a  foot  and  a  corner  of  my  dress  he  essayed 
to  pull  me  out,  but  I  could  not  stir.  Then  he  got  out  the 
feather-bed  and  me,  finally,  safe  and  sound.  Had  the 
ice  broken  the  affair  might  have  been  serious.  Mean- 
while the  driver  had  gone  to  the  village  for  help.  We 
waited  there,  knowing  it  was  not  safe  to  leave  our  luggage, 
and  walked  to  and  fro  to  avoid  taking  cold. 

"After  a  while  we  saw  lanterns,  and  heard  voices 
talking  all  at  once,  and  the  men  came  up.  They  got  the 
cart  up  after  much  tugging  and  scolding,  and  then  the 
driver  made  a  long  search  for  a  missing  string  of  cash, 
bewailing  his  loss  loudly. 

"Next  morning  found  us  none  the  worse  for  our  night's 
adventure. 

"The  previous  day  we  had  passed  several  temples, 
some  of  them  in  ruin,  and  a  few  quite  picturesque. 
Saturday  we  saw  many,  most  of  which  were  neat  and 
pretty.  They  had  fine  old  trees  about  them,  with  rooks, 
nests  in  the  highest  branches.  The  Chinese  take  great 
pains  to  raise  trees  and  to  preserve  them.  Their  idea  of 
beautiful  form  differs  from  ours,  and  many  of  their  trees 
are  pruned  so  as  to  make  one  think  of  hearth  brooms  for 
a  giant's  castle. 

"  I  was  lonely  in  my  cage  behind  the  driver,  and  Mrs. 
Gulick  wanted  me  to  have  a  fair  look  at  Peking,  so  she  gave 
me  the  donkey.  I  enjoyed  my  ride  very  much.  There 
was  a  great  deal  to  see,  — pretty  villages  and  temples,  fine 
cemeteries,  with  marble  and  granite  pillars,  standing  on 
immense  tortoises  which  were  very  ugly,  and  looked 
quite  forlorn.    Then  there  were  lions  with  goggle- eyes. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  85 

which  were  intended  to  look  very  fierce,  but  made  a  lu- 
dicrous failure. 

"I  had  fun  with  the  donkey.  She  found  out  that  I 
was  not  her  mistress,  and  her  assinine  nature  asserted  it- 
self. As  soon  as  inside  the  city  gates,  she  determined  to 
take  the  sidewalk,  instead  of  the  raised  cart  road  in  the 
middle  of  the  street,  so  that  she  could  start  down  the  side 
street  whenever  she  pleased.  We  contended  the  matter 
for  three  miles,  being  alternately  successful.  Her  plans 
for  having  her  way  were  most  ingenious.  The  donkey  is 
belied  by  being  made  the  emblem  of  stupidity.  They  are 
thought  very  wise  by  the  Chinese,  who  assert  that  they 
understand  the  Chinese  language  very  well. 

*'  We  were  at  last  inside  the  great  city  of  Peking.  Its 
streets  are  wide,  so  that  their  appearance  is  very  different 
from  those  in  southern  cities.  There  are  plenty  of  dirty 
hovels  adjoining  fine  shops,  and  as  the  grandees  and  re- 
spectable, well-fed  Chinamen  pass  through  the  streets, 
hosts  of  filthy,  emaciated  beggars  follow  them  crying, 
^Have  pity,  sir.'     'Give  me  a  cash.'     'Have  pity,  sir.' 

''On  reaching  the  mission  premises,  we  received  the 
kindest  welcome  possible.  Mr.  Blodget  opened  the  great 
doors  of  Mrs.  Bridgman's  house :  'We  must  open  both 
the  doors  to  show  how  thoroughly  welcome  you  are.'  " 

^' Peking^  March  8 ^  1867, 
".  .  .  In  preparation  for  going  to  Kalgan,  we  re- 
packed three  or  four  boxes  yesterday,  and  selected  Chi- 
nese wall-paper,  of  which  we  take  four  thousand  sheets, 
as  each  sheet  is  small,  measuring  only  thirteen  by  eighteen 
inches.  We  dined  at  Minister  Burlingame's  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening, — not  reaching  home  until  a  few 
minutes  before  midnight.  No  wonder  I'm  tired,  is  it? 
We  have  dined  or  '  tea-ed '  out  almost  every  day  since  we 
came,  and  one  day  we  breakfasted  out  as  well !    Mrs. 


B6  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Bridgman  and  Mr.  Blodget  have  not  joined  us  in  all  this 
dissipation,  but  we  have  not  gone  except  when  they  ap- 
proved of  it,  and  said  we  had  better  go.  We  like  the 
Legation  people,  but  so  much  visiting  is  too  much.  We 
are  asked  to  sing  everywhere  we  go.  The  good  people 
urgently  press  us  to  bring  our  music,  or  else  send  for  it 
after  we  come.  ^  Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan,' 
is  a  duet  much  called  for,  wherever  we  go." 

"  Kalgan,  April  13 j  1867. 

**  I  shall  not  attempt  a  description  of  Peking,  as  I  saw 
but  few  of  its  sights.  Mr.  Doolittle  describes  most  of 
them  in  the  last  chapter  of  ^  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese ' 
quite  fully. 

^*We  spent  an  afternoon  in  visiting  the  examination 
hall  and  the  observatory,  and  afterwards  drove  around 
the  wall  of  the  imperial  grounds. 

"The  instruments  at  the  observatory  for  calculating 
the  sizes,  distances,  and  movements  of  the  celestial  bodies 
are  made  of  bronze  and  are  very  fine  indeed. 

"  Our  visit  to  the  examination  hall  was  interesting  also. 
The  halls  in  the  various  provinces  are  on  the  same  model, 
so  much  so  that  Mr.  Doolittle' s  description  of  the  one  at 
Foo  Chow  will  answer  almost  equally  well  for  that  at 
Peking.  We  noticed  that  large  jars  are  used  here  for 
water  instead  of  wooden  troughs,  as  wood  is  much  scarcer 
than  at  the  South.  There  is  an  artificial  hill  in  part  of 
the  Emperor's  grounds.  It  was  made  of  coal  a  long  time 
ago,  as  a  provision  of  fuel  in  case  of  siege.  It  is  enclosed 
separately  from  the  palace  grounds. 

"  Going  out  one  evening  for  a  walk  on  the  wall  we  had 
a  good  view  of  the  city.  The  wall  itself  is  a  wonder. 
Some  one  said,  *  What  a  genius  the  Chinese  have  for  pil- 
ing up  bricks  and  mortar.' 

"  We  were  shown  the  immense  iron  drawbridge  used 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  87 

over  the  grand  canal  where  it  ran  through  the  city.  Very 
great  power  must  have  been  required  to  raise  it. 

^'The  yellow  tiled  roofs  of  the  Emperor's  palaces  can 
be  seen  from  the  wall,  also  the  blue  dome  of  the  Temple 
of  Heaven.  This  temple  is  one  of  the  greatest  objects  of 
interest  in  Peking.  It  is  in  the  Chinese  part  of  the  city. 
The  Manchu  city,  especially,  has  a  great  number  of  trees, 
so  that  the  prospect  from  the  wall  in  summer-time  is 
beautiful.  While  we  were  in  the  city  the  Emperor  paid 
one  of  his  uncles  a  visit.  For  days  before,  the  streets, 
over  which  he  was  to  pass,  were  being  put  into  order, 
and  that  morning  yellow  dust  was  sprinkled  over  them. 
Mrs.  Gulick  saw  the  imperial  Sedan  chairs,  the  Emper- 
or's and  Prince  Kung's,  and  five  Princes'  carts.  The  lat- 
ter are  red.  There  is  another  difference  from  the  com- 
mon carts.  The  wheels  are  much  farther  back,  so  that 
they  are  easier  vehicles  to  ride  in. 

"As  the  Emperor  was  returning,  a  man  pressed  too 
near  his  Sedan.  The  guards  chained  him  and  dragged 
him  away  instantly.     Undoubtedly  he  was  executed. 

"As  soon  as  we  could  obtain  a  good  Chinese  teacher, 
we  left  Peking  for  this  city.  Mr.  Williams  and  I  now 
had  a  litter  instead  of  a  cart,  and  found  it  very  comfort- 
able. A  litter  is  something  like  a  sedan  chair.  It  has 
more  room  than  a  cart,  and  is  carried  by  mules.  When 
a  few  miles  away  from  Peking  and  its  dust,  we  breathed 
free.  It  is  said  to  be  the  dustiest  city  in  the  world. 
White  clothing  cannot  be  kept  white,  and  I  am  told  can 
never  be  made  so  again  after  being  worn  a  while  there. 

"During  the  first  day's  journey  we  often  heard  bells 
which  sounded  like  cow -bells  at  home,  and,  looking  out 
under  the  delusion  that  we  should  see  a  dozen  sleek  cows 
feeding  in  a  meadow,  there  came  a  line  of  donkeys,  shak- 
ing their  wise,  long  ears  constantly. 

"During  the  whole  of  our  journey  we  were  in  si^ht  of 


88  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

the  beautiful  blue  hills,  and  almost  always  were  sur- 
rounded by  them.  The  contrast  between  them  and  the 
monotonous  plains  about  Tientsin  was  delightful. 

*'  The  second  day  we  spent  going  through  the  Nank^ou 
Pass,  which  is  about  thirteen  miles  in  length.  Most  of 
the  way  was  very  rough,  but  we  enjoyed  our  ride  in  the 
litter  as  much  as  when  on  level  ground.  It  rocked  con- 
stantly, but  the  motion  was  pleasant,  and  we  were  not 
afraid,  knowing  how  sure-footed  mules  are. 

*' Friends  had  promised  us  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in 
the  scenery  of  the  pass,  and  it  far  exceeded  our  expecta- 
tions. There  was  a  constant  feast  for  the  eye.  Here 
there  were  immense  boulders,  and  there,  huge  fragments 
of  rock.  Bright  little  brooks  were  merrily  winding  their 
way  between. 

*^  New  England  is  outdone  in  the  way  of  stones.  Both 
walls  and  houses  of  villages,  outside  and  inside  the  pass, 
are  built  of  them,  and  still  their  number  seems  undimin- 
ished. Deep  gorges  are  full  of  them  ;  the  hills  look  like 
solid  rock  from  peak  to  base,  and  the  road  for  miles  Is 
over  boulders  wedged  tightly  together.  There  is  so  much 
travel  through  the  pass  that  these  are  worn  smooth. 

*^The  inner  line  of  the  Great  Wall  is  at  the  entrance 
to  the  Nank'ou  or  Southern  Mouth,  and  three  or  four 
branches  cross  it.  We  went  tjirough  ten  gateways. 
These  are  double,  as  is  customary  with  cities.  The  wall 
is  dilapidated  in  some  places.  The  gateways  are  solidly 
built  and  in  good  repair.  One  was  very  fine,  having 
much  carved  work,  and  inscriptions  in  six  different  lan- 
guages. One  of  these  European  scholars  cannot  read.  It 
was  written  by  Tartars  allied  closely  to  the  Manchus.  In 
some  places  there  was  snow  and  ice.  !N"ear  by,  the  wil- 
lows were  growing  yellow,  and  down  in  the  valley  be- 
neath little  vegetable  beds  were  quite  green.  These  were 
the  first  signs  of  spring  that  we  had  seen.     Beggars  stand 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  89 

in  the  narrowest  passes,  holding  little  baskets.  When 
they  see  any  one  coming  they  pick  up  a  stone  or  two, 
throw  them  from  the  path,  and  hold  out  their  baskets  for 
cash.  This  is  better  than  the  Peking  style,  which  is  to 
excite  pity  by  looking  and  being  as  dirty  and  miserable 
as  possible.     They  are  thoroughly  lazy. 

"  Cottages  are  perched  by  the  side  of  the  road,  or  above 
it.  Some  are  picturesque  and  pretty,  others  have  not 
even  the  merit  of  picturesque  ugliness. 

"  Many  trains  of  donkeys,  mules  and  camels  passed  us. 
Occasionally  the  road  was  hardly  wide  enough,  and  the 
litter  had  some  hard  knocks. 

*'  Our  day  in  the  heart  of  the  hills  was  all  too  short.  I 
felt  an  impulse  to  go  back  and  find  a  cottage  among  the 
rocks,  where  we  might  tarry  for  a  while,  taking  the 
grandeur  into  our  very  souls.  I  cannot  give  you  an  idea 
of  the  glory  of  these  mountains.  The  masses  of  rock  lie 
at  all  angles  to  the  horizon,  often  are  perpendicular  to  it. 
Nature  has  been  both  architect  and  sculptor  among  the 
rocks.  There  were  frowning  castles,  and  gigantic  statues. 
Grander  than  these  were  her  cathedrals,  more  solemn 
than  any  handiwork  of  man.  One  felt  overshadowed  by 
silence.  *The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple,'  came  from 
the  heart  to  the  lips.  Truly  the  place  was  His  temple, 
and  He  was  present  there.  ^  The  strength  of  the  hills  is 
His '  seemed  written  on  every  rock.  And  the  key-note  of 
the  whole  happy  day,  an  unalloyed  song  of  praise,  was 
^  As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the 
Lord  is  round  about  His  people  from  henceforth  even 
forever.' 

*^  Among  those  everlasting  hills,  where  God  is  so  near, 
men  had  dared  to  build  shrines  and  temples  to  gods  made 
by  their  own  hands.  One  was  in  ruins.  The  immense 
idol  was  sitting  there  still,  in  grinning  mockery  of  Him 
who  is  a  spirit  and  must  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in 


90  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

truth.  To  us  who  knew  of  the  one  true  God,  everything 
spoke  of  Him.  Some  of  the  rocks,  black  and  scarred,  as 
if  by  great  convulsions  of  nature,  ages  ago,  spoke  of  His 
power  and  wrath.  Others,  mossy  and  beautiful,  or 
brightly  variegated  with  yellow  and  gray  lichens,  had  a 
more  cheerful  voice.  The  trees  on  the  mountainside, 
climbing  towards  heaven,  seemed  to  speak  words  of  trust. 
Their  roots  were  clasped  firmly  about  the  rocks,  and  the 
trunks  had  clung  so  closely  to  them  as  to  hide  them  in 
their  hearts.  By  the  brooks  the  early  budding  trees  were 
merry  with  birds,  whose  songs  completed  the  voice  of 
praise  ceaselessly  going  up  to  the  Throne. 

"  Again  and  again  we  passed  shrines.  Some  were  high 
above  the  road  and  were  reached  by  stone  stairways. 
There  were  sometimes  inscribed  tablets  set  in  the  rock 
below.  On  some  of  the  temples  odd  figures  and  scenes 
are  painted. 

*^  Here  and  there  are  brick  watch-towers.  These  are 
not  in  the  pass  alone,  but  at  intervals  all  along  the  road. 
Near  these  there  are  invariably  five  cones,  apparently  of 
clay,  whitewashed  and  tipped  with  red.  Figures  are 
painted  on  them  in  red,  yellow,  or  both  ;  dragons  per- 
haps, but  they  look  like  cats  with  wings.  Once  we  saw 
cones  painted  with  two  cocks,  as  many  tigers,  and  a 
demon  instead  of  the  ordinary  winged  cats.  These  cones 
were  quite  a  mystery  to  us.  Mr.  Gulick  has  seen  but  one 
man  who  professed  to  know  what  they  were  for.  He 
said  they  were  filled  with  combustible  articles,  so  that  in 
time  of  invasion  these  should  be  means  for  giving  signals. 

*^  On  the  wall  and  scattered  through  the  pass  a  number 
of  small  cannon  are  lying.  All  these  preparations  for 
defense  are  useless  now  ;  the  wall,  broken  in  numberless 
places,  cannon  thrown  away,  and  watch-towers  crum- 
bling back  to  dust. 

"The  mules  had  hard  tugging  when  going  over  the 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  91 

steepest  places  in  the  road,  and  some  of  our  baggage  not 
being  put  up  properly  was  injured.  A  few  boxes  and 
trunks  were  stove  in.  The  bureau  lost  a  leg  and  came 
through  the  fight  with  a  number  of  honorable  scars  in 
front,  as  well  as  a  large  wound  in  the  back. 

"After  two  nights  at  the  inns  I  became  quite  deaf. 
The  Chinese  say  that  if  any  one  sleeps  with  face  towards 
the  wall  when  angry,  he  will  be  blind  in  the  morning, 
but  I  have  not  heard  how  they  account  for  deafness. 
Thick  nightcaps  would  have  been  a  preventive,  but, 
like  Gail  Hamilton,  my  ideal  of  such  articles  of  apparel 
had  never  been  realized. 

"When  we  washed  our  faces  in  the  morning  we  used 
cold  tea.  Noon  or  night  is  the  time  to  call  for  ^  face- 
washing  water.'  In  the  morning  the  only  thing  one  can 
get  is  hot  water  for  tea,  and  sometimes  that  doesn't  come 
before  time  to  be  on  the  way.  Generally,  while  we  were 
taking  a  lunch  before  starting,  the  man  who  had  charge 
of  our  litter  was  yelling  to  Mr.  Williams,  '  Teacher  Horse, 
Teacher  Horse,  have  your  things  put  in  the  litter.' 
*  Wait,  wait,'  was  the  answer,  which  would  quiet  him  for 
a  minute  and  then  he  would  begin  again.  As  our  days' 
journeys  were  all  short,  we  never  cared  to  start  before  six. 

"  After  leaving  Nank'ou  we  supposed  the  poetry  of  the 
way  was  ended,  and  were  prepared  for  the  prose  of  flat 
plains,  but  were  delighted  to  find  the  scenery  through 
which  we  passed  during  the  next  two  days  often  equal  to 
any  we  had  seen  before. 

"One  morning  there  was  a  grand  sunrise.  The  purple 
hills  were  touched  with  suddenly  dawning  day,  and  their 
sombre  hue  changed  to  rosy  and  golden  lights,  all  the 
brighter  for  dark  shadows  between. 

"Parts  of  the  country  are  sandy.  There  were  large 
beds  which  had  been  left  by  the  wind  wrinkled  and  wav- 
ing, like  crepe  and  watered  silk. 


92  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*'  The  trees  are  few  except  where  they  have  been 
planted  near  villages.  At  some  places  we  saw  those 
which  had  been  lately  pruned.  They  were  cut  off  about 
ten  feet  from  the  ground,  all  branches  pruned  away,  and 
the  top  tied  up  in  rags  and  straw.  The  idea  is  to  make 
the  branches  grow  out  broom  fashion. 

"We  saw,  one  day,  a  heavily  loaded  wheelbarrow 
drawn  by  four  men.  In  the  clay  bank  by  the  roadside, 
a  beggar,  or  devotee,  had  a  little  cave.  He  came  out 
when  we  passed,  hoping  for  something.  I  felt  more  like 
giving  money  to  help  the  barrow  men  buy  a  donkey,  for 
it  was  painful  to  see  them  work  so  hard.  Man^s  labor 
is  often  worth  less  than  a  brute's.  The  population  is  far 
greater  than  can  really  live.  Many  endure  living  death, 
and  vast  numbers  die.  Still  China  swarms  with  human 
beings,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  they  are  glad  to  do  the 
work  of  brutes.  As  among  bees,  there  are  two  classes, 
workers  and  drones.  Most  of  the  workers  make  slaves 
of  themselves  in  order  to  keep  above  beggary.  The 
drones  include  of&cials,  a  majority  of  the  wealthy,  and 
the  beggars. 

"  The  Chinese  value  mules  and  donkeys  very  much — 
more  than  horses  in  the  extreme  North.  Apparently, 
they  really  admire  long  ears  and  the  donkey's  bray. 

' '  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  seeing  at  one  of  the  inns 
a  coffin  having  a  live  cock  tied  on  it,  as  is  the  custom  in 
case  of  persons  dying  away  from  home.  Mr.  Doolittle 
says  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  ^  luring  home  the  spirit  of 
the  dead.' 

"The  people  in  some  places  were  very  anxious  to  see 
us.  They  ran  after  our  litter,  and  stooped  to  peep  under 
the  curtains,  and  after  having  a  long  look,  would  say, 
*  Why,  it  is  a  woman  ! ' 

"  One  night  there  was  a  large  crowd  of  people  at  our 
room  door,  eager  for  a  peep,  whenever  it  opened.     There 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  CHINA  93 

was  a  bit  of  glass  window,  two  inches  square,  at  which 
some  one  kept  an  eye,  till  I  covered  it  up.  Then  they 
thrust  holes  in  the  paper  windows,  and  the  innkeeper 
rushed  out,  very  angry, — 'These  children!  What 
things  ! '  The  first  phrase  is  a  great  reproof,  but  the 
second  far  worse,  as  it  is  considered  degrading  to  be 
called  a  '  thing.  ^ 

"Afterwards  two  Mongols  came  in,  saying,  ^Mundu, 
Mundu.'  A  lot  of  Chinese  men  and  boys  followed  them, 
and  we  had  the  room  full  of  open-mouthed  starers. 

"Many  trains  of  camels  were  carrying  soda  from  Mon- 
golia, as  we  came  up.  It  is  in  large  blocks,  of  which  a 
camel  carries  two. 

"Thursday  we  reached  the  Sandy  River,  and  near  it 
saw  a  number  of  inscriptions  cut  in  the  rock.  As  the 
river  was  full  of  ice,  we  did  not  cross,  but  took  a  road 
among  the  mountains,  not  ordinarily  travelled.  The 
scenery  was  very  grand  ;  equal  to  any  part  of  Nank'ou. 
The  road  was  steep,  and  at  first,  one  could  but  look  down, 
and  think  of  the  result  of  a  single  misstep.  After  ascend- 
ing as  abruptly  as  we  had  descended,  a  wonderful  land- 
scape opened  before  us.  The  horizon  was  a  wide  one  ; 
and,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  there  were  the  beautiful 
blue  hills. 

"To  the  left  was  a  sea  of  sand,  whose  waves  seemed  to 
have  been  petrified  as  they  were  ready  to  break  over  the 
hills  in  the  distance.  The  nearer  shore  was  bordered  by 
a  line  of  silver,  a  little  river  shining  in  the  sun. 

"That  night  we  spent  at  Hsuan-hwa-fu,  a  fine  city, 
with  wide  streets,  and  tile- roofed  houses.  We  saw  many 
memorial  arches  in  a  burying-ground  adjoining  the  city. 
We  went  out  for  a  walk  in  the  city  and  Mrs.  Gulick 
and  I  were  much  gazed  at ;  many  followed  us,  but  nobody 
was  really  rude. 

"We  bought  a  few  hazelnuts,  red  haws,  and  grapes. 


94  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

The  nuts  would  have  been  good  if  they  had  not  been 
gathered  long  before  they  were  ripe.  The  grapes  were 
very  nice.  The  north  of  China  is  famous  for  grapes,  the 
soil  seems  perfectly  adapted  to  their  culture.  It  is  sandy, 
and  by  no  means  rich. 

"  We  had  nice  rooms  at  the  inn.  They  were  in  a  pri- 
vate courtyard,  and  we  enjoyed  that  very  much.  Hav- 
ing no  coal  fire  in  our  rooms,  we  slept  well.  The  Chinese 
use  furnaces  which  send  all  the  gas  and  smoke  out  into 
the  room.  The  gas  is  very  bad,  and  makes  people  sleep 
as  if  dead. 

*'The  following  day  we  reached  Kalgan  at  noon.  The 
Lord^s  hand  had  led  us.  He  had  kept  us  as  under  the 
shadow  of  His  wing.^^ 


m 

BEGHraiNGS  AT  KALGAN 

"  Oft  when  the  word  is  on  me  to  deliver, 
Lifts  the  illusion  and  the  truth  lies  bare. 
Desert,  or  throng,  the  city  or  the  river, 
Meets  in  a  lucid  paradise  of  air. 

*•  Only  like  souls  I  see  the  folk  thereunder, 

Bound  who  should  conquer,  slaves  who  should  be  kings ; 
Hearing  their  one  hope  with  an  empty  wonder, 
Sadly  contented  in  a  show  of  things. 

**  Then  with  a  rush  the  intolerable  craving 
Shivers  throughout  me  like  a  trumpet  call. 
Oh,  to  save  these,  to  perish  for  their  saving  I 
Die  for  their  life,  be  offered  for  them  all !  " 

(To  her  father.) 

'^Kalgariy  May  4^  1867, 
"  TT*  EEAD  your  letters  over  so  often  that  my  time  for 
I  answering  them  is  likely  to  be  small.  Yesterday 
A  we  were  busy  unpacking.  While  we  were  at  din- 
ner, a  mandarin  and  his  friend  marched  in  on  us  without 
any  notice.  Mr.  Gulick  took  them  into  our  room  while 
the  rest  of  us  finished  dinner.  Then  Mrs.  Gulick  and  I 
played  for  them.  They  asked  all  possible  questions,  and 
showed  great  curiosity,  examining  everything  in  the 
room,  and  even  opening  boxes  and  bureau  drawers.  It 
was  very  wearisome,  and  they  stayed  a  long  time.  Then 
some  Manchu  ladies  came  to  call.  I  soon  exhausted  my 
stock  of  remarks,  but  found  some  Harper's  Weeklies 
which  furnished  food  for  their  curiosity.  I  showed  the 
children  one  of  the  picture  tracts,  and  talked  as  well  as  I 

95 


96  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

could  about  the  pictures.  All  nigM  long  the  Chinese 
gongs,  drums  and  bells  sounded,  so  I  feel  quite  as  if  I  had 
used  up  to-day's  strength  before  the  day  came. 

^'I  am  still  looking  for  my  next  home  letters  to  hear 
more  of  God's  work  in  Beloit.  When  the  Church  at  home 
is  in  earnest,  missionaries  may  look  for  a  blessing  in 
foreign  lands.'' 

''June  2  J  1867. 

^^  I  am  like  the  horse-leech's  daughters,  crying,  '  Give, 
give ! '  for  I'm  never  satisfied — never  have  enough  of 
letters  from  home.  Five  weeks  ago  one  came  from 
Alfred  ;  two  weeks  before,  one  from  Martha  ;  and  two  be- 
fore that,  one  from  Beloit,  so  that  I  have  been  quite 
favored  until  just  now.  But  I  have  been  looking  just  as 
eagerly  every  day  for  nearly  a  week,  as  if  I  had  not  had 
any  for  a  very  long  time.  The  coming  of  a  package  of 
mail  is  as  great  an  event  as  it  used  to  be  at  Lacquiparle. 
Everything  else  is  put  aside  if  possible,  and  we  thoroughly 
enjoy  a  look  at  the  world,  and  especially  at  our  home 
worlds.  Then  we  have  plenty  to  talk  about  for  a  long 
time  after. 

"  We  are  sharing  with  the  Gulicks  a  little  mud-roofed 
house  at  the  foot  of  the  Bluff.  Its  court,  ten  by  fifteen 
feet,  is  shut  up  by  a  high  mud  wall.  How  the  heat  is  re- 
flected from  the  rocks  of  the  mountainside  against  that 
yellow  wall,  and  down  into  our  court !  It  is  almost 
stifling.     But  we  keep  up  heart,  and  study  diligently. 

"Mrs.  Gulick  is  fitting  up  the  new  house  which  is  to 
be  theirs,  while  Mr.  Gulick  is  away  touring.  You  ought 
to  see  how  ignorant  these  carpenters  are.  We  all  have  to 
consult  together  about  how  things  are  to  be  done,  for  the 
man  don't  know,  of  course.  You  would  be  amused  at 
their  floors  and  door-sills.  The  boards  are  nailed  down 
with  large-headed  nails,  and  as  two  boards  are  seldom  of 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  97 

a  width,  they  are  hacked  up  this  way  and  that  to  make 
them  fit.  Boards  are  all  coffin-lengthy — seven  feet.  No 
other  length  of  lumber  is  brought  here.  It  comes  on 
camel-back.  Mrs.  Gulick  has  had  one  door  made  foreign 
fashion,  and  it  took  two  men  something  more  than  three 
days !    .     .     .'^ 

'*  Kalgany  June  15, 1867, 
"My  Dear  Sister  Martha  : 

*'.  .  .  This  afternoon  Mr.  Williams  finished 
his  Chinese  lesson  early,  and  started  off  to  the  Lower  City 
to  have  glass  cut  for  the  doors  of  our  bookcase.  So  I 
took  my  turn  with  the  teacher,  making  a  martyr  of  my- 
self to  the  extent  of  reading  eleven  hymns. 

"Since  Mr.  Gulick' s  going  away,  Mark  is  getting  to  be 
quite  a  business  man,  and  has  been  putting  his  Chinese 
lessons  into  practice.  Just  now  he  has  gone  to  the  bank 
to  have  a  bill  changed, — a  thing  he  wouldn^t  have 
dreamed  of  doing  a  few  weeks  ago.  Our  servant  is  a 
great  trial  to  me.  Just  now  he  passed  the  door  with  the 
dish-cloth  hanging  over  his  head !  His  cooking  is  mis- 
erable. There  is  the  large-pot  flavor,  the  small-pot 
flavor,  the  essence  of  dirty  frying-pan,  and  of  black  dish- 
cloth, with  the  taste  of  garlic  and  smoke  thrown  in. 
There  you  have  a  true  picture  of  one  very  important  part 
of  our  present  life,  and  one  darJc  enough  to  suit  Alfred 
and  Mary.     At  least  the  dish-cloths  are  !  '^ 

^^Kalganj  June  17,  1867. 
"Dear  Alfred  and  Mary  : 

"We  are  glad  to  be  here  in  Kalgan,  and  I  am 
pleased  that  we  are  soon  to  keep  house.  We  enjoyed 
boarding  with  the  Stanleys  at  Tientsin,  and  with  the 
Gulicks  here,  but  I  think  now  that  we  know  enough 
Chinese  to  get  on  after  a  fashion,  we  shall  learn  much 


98  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

faster  when  keeping  house,  since  we  will  be  obliged  to 
talk.  Mr.  Gulick's  ideas  about  the  Chinese  language 
have  been  a  great  help  to  me.  I  don't  agree  with  him  in 
all  his  opinions  about  the  sounds  of  the  language,  but  he 
sets  me  thinking,  and  we  have  many  interesting  discus- 
sions. Mark  and  I  are  studying  faithfully  these  days. 
We  are  encouraged,  for  our  teacher  has  praised  our  k^ou 
yin  (our  *  mouth-sounds '),  and  he  is  very  particular  not 
to  let  any  wrong  pronunciation  pass. 

^^  I  haven't  given  you  any  very  dark  pictures  of  life  in 
China.  For  the  most  part  I  do  prefer  to  speak  of  pleasant 
things  when  I  write.  As  far  as  concerns  myself,  if  I  am 
unhappy  or  lonely  sometimes,  it  is  no  more  than  one  ex- 
periences anywhere,  and  it  will  do  you  no  good  to  know 
it.  Whether  things  are  pleasant  or  not,  generally  de- 
pends on  the  way  one  takes  them. 

^'  One  day  when  we  went  to  ride,  I  dug  a  wild  flag  out 
of  the  mountainside,  and  I  have  it  growing  nicely  on  our 
window  ledge. 

^'  We  are  having  a  board  floor  put  down  in  the  room 
that  is  to  be  our  kitchen.  Soon  we  shall  be  living  *  like 
folks.'  " 

*^  Kalgauj  July  9,  1867. 
"  Dear  Henry  : 

*'  You  want  me  to  prize  your  letters  very  much,  I 
suppose,  and  so  make  them  like  'angel's  visits,  few  and 
far  between.'  If  you  could  see  me  when  the  letters  come, 
you  would  think  I  was  glad  enough  !  Why  the  day 
yours  and  Anna's  came,  I  was  so  excited  that  I  forgot 
my  thimble,  and  in  consequence  lost  it, — my  only  one, — 
and  at  night  was  still  so  glad  that  I  couldn't  sleep  for  a 
long  time. 

"  Mark  is  going  out  into  Mongolia  next  week  to  buy  a 
cow,  and  Mr.  Gulick  has  promised  to  show  him  the  way. 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  99 

So  Mrs.  Gulick  and  I  are  going  with  them  for  the  fun  of 
the  thing.  I  need  to  go,  so  as  to  have  a  sight  of  some- 
thing more  than  these  high  mud  walls, — at  least,  it  will 
do  me  good  to  go.  We  are,  however,  more  fortunate 
than  most  people  in  China,  with  these  grand  rocks  all 
around  us.  Mark  brings  me  green  leaves  and  vines  from 
the  hills  every  now  and  then  for  bouquets.  Sometimes 
there  are  a  few  flowers.  I  enjoy  them  ever  so  much. 
Once  in  a  while  I  go  and  gather  them  too,  but  it's  rather 
a  hard  scramble  for  me. 

"Mrs.  Gulick  had  quite  an  experience  with  ahorse 
fresh  from  Mongolia.  He  had  never  seen  a  manger.  So 
he  thought  it  was  meant  to  put  his  feet  in,  and  regularly 
broke  it  down,  every  few  days,  besides  breaking  the  door 
open,  as  an  alternate  recreation.  Now  he  is  really  half- 
civilized  and  behaves  pretty  well.  He  has  taken  such  a 
fancy  to  the  little  donkey,  *  Funny  Fun,'  that  he  is 
perfectly  disconsolate  if  it  is  out  of  his  sighf 

"  July  20th. 

'*  Early  Monday  morning,  the  middle  of  July,  we  were 
up,  and  preparing  busily  for  an  immediate  start.  It 
quite  reminded  me  of  our  getting  ready  for  prairie 
journeys,  in  former  times,  in  Dakota  land. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  had  a  horse  and  a  donkey. 
We  had  one  donkey,  and  Mr.  Williams  hired  another  for 
the  trip.  The  Chinaman  who  let  him  was  to  furnish 
riding-gear.  What  should  he  bring  but  a  wooden  pack- 
saddle  !  It  was  too  late  to  make  other  arrangements,  so 
this  was  fitted  to  Mr.  Williams'  animal,  which  was  no 
easy  task.  The  saddle  had,  of  course,  neither  stirrups 
nor  girths.  The  former  were  improvised  from  ropes,  and 
the  latter  voted  unnecessary,  —considering  that  we  had 
none,  and  that  they  could  not  be  used  if  we  had  them. 
These  pack-saddles  are  very  clumsy  affairs. 


100  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"Mrs.  Gulick  kindly  insisted  on  my  taking  her  donkey, 
as  it  has  a  remarkable  easy  gait,  while  she  would  ride 
the  one  Mr.  Williams  had  hired. 

"While  the  donkeys  were  being  saddled,  Mrs.  Gulick 
and  I  busied  ourselves  in  packing  provisions  and  clothes, 
and  making  arrangements  for  and  with  the  Chinese  part 
of  our  family.  Besides  that,  Mrs.  Gulick' s  pets  had  to 
be  cared  for.  One  boy  was  to  feed  the  cats,  another  the 
eagle,  owls  and  dogs,  and  the  third  was  to  water  the 
flowers  5  while  one  was  charged  not  to  forget  the  dove. 

"As  it  was  possible  friends  might  arrive  from  Peking 
in  our  absence,  I  put  my  rooms  in  readiness  for  them, 
leaving  a  note  and  our  keys  with  one  of  the  teachers. 

"  The  last  thing  was  to  contrive  a  way  for  the  cats  to 
have  access  to  rooms  where,  otherwise,  rats  and  mice 
would  rule  supreme.  That  done,  and  all  the  bags  and 
blankets  being  securely  fastened  to  our  animals,  Mr. 
Gulick  led  the  procession  out  of  town. 

"  We  were  as  happy  at  the  prospect  of  leaving  Chinese 
books,  servants  and  workmen  behind  as  children  are 
when  winter  holidays  come. 

"  All  went  well  till  we  were  outside  the  gate.  The 
horse  and  three  of  the  donkeys,  counting  ^  Funny  Fun,'  the 
little  one,  plodded  along,  with  eyes  on  the  ground,  evi- 
dently meditating  on  some  profound  subject.  The  ears 
of  the  fourth  looked  very  suspicious,  and  when  we  came 
to  a  steep  descent  just  beyond  the  wall,  he  started  down 
at  such  a  pace  that  Mrs.  Gulick  was  obliged  to  dismount. 
When  she  was  seated  again,  he  rushed  at  full  speed  in  an 
opposite  direction  from  the  one  we  were  to  take.  He 
had  no  idea  of  going  out  on  the  plains  while  home  was 
so  near ;  and,  as  there  was  no  bridle,  he  had  matters  all 
his  own  way  for  a  while.  After  taking  the  bridle  from 
my  donkey  for  his  benefit,  we  succeeded  at  last  in  being 
fairly  started  on  our  way. 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KAIX^ANi*  ^,']'.;iidi/ 

"The  pass  into  Mongolia  is  by  two  valleys,  through 
one  of  which  flows  a  rapid  mountain  torrent.  The  other, 
which  we  took,  has  a  dry,  sandy  bed,  with  rugged  hills 
close  on  either  hand. 

"The  clouds  promised  rai%  and  it  came  shortly — a 
pleasant  little  shower,  making  everything  brighter.  No 
bluer  sky  ever  gave  inspiration  to  an  Italian  artist.  One 
could  not  but  exult  in  the  vivid  sunshine.  It  was  such  as 
you  imagine  that  of  tropical  regions  to  be.  On  such  days 
it  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  Parsee  clings  to  his  re- 
ligion. 

"  The  crickets  were  as  happy  as  we,  and  chirped  as  if 
they  had  just  found  voice.  We  found  an  odd  kind  of 
creature,  something  between  a  cricket  and  a  grasshopper. 
Some  had  long  antennse  and  tails,  some  had  the  one  with- 
out the  other,  while  others  had  apparently  been  to  the 
wars,  and  come  back  without  either. 

"  When  dinner-time  came  we  enjoyed  our  lunch  under 
a  tree,  and  a  lot  of  youngsters,  mostly  in  undress,  enjoyed 
watching  us  equally  well. 

"  The  view  at  Bamba  is  very  fine.  We  were  climbing 
up  the  ridge  on  which  the  Great  Wall  runs.  Behind 
were  the  blue,  blue  hills,  with  dark  shadows  resting  be- 
tween, and,  on  either  side,  wide,  beautiful  valleys.  Be- 
fore us  were  towers,  rising  one  above  another,  connected 
by  the  line  of  ruined  wall.  As  we  rode  up  to  the 
town  and  out  from  it,  I  could  not  but  look  beyond  the 
miserable  huts,  the  wan-faced  children,  the  dreary 
human  life,  to  the  beautiful  peace  of  the  unchanging 
hills.  So  we  look  from  our  unsatisfying  life  on  earth  to 
the  perfect  peace  crowning  the  hills  of  heaven. 

"  We  climbed  up  to  one  of  the  towers,  stepped  over  the 
wall,  and  stood  long  gazing  on  both  valleys.  Beautiful 
flowers  held  up  their  smiling  faces  to  ours.  These  wild 
flowers  do  not  seem  to  love  China,  and  one  wearies  for 


'imflyr^.''    -BYTH^  GEEAT  WALL 

the  sight  of  them.  Garden  plants  apparently  accord 
better  with  the  Chinese  nature,  for  they  thrive  finely. 

"After  passing  Bamba  the  hills  grew  less  rugged,  and 
the  intervening  valleys  widened.  At  last  we  were  fairly 
on  the  Mongolian  plains.  We  went  on  to  Sher-pa-tai 
that  night.  It  was  quite  a  ride  for  some  of  us, — thirty 
miles, — and  we  were  veiy  tired,  although  the  whole  day 
had  been  one  of  intense  enjoyment. 

"The  moon  was  up,  and  a  star  out  here  and  there, 
while  the  line  of  light  about  the  western  horizon  was 
fading  away.  The  sky  above,  shedding  its  calmness  over 
the  widely  rolling  prairies,  repaid  us  well  for  all  the 
fatigue  we  felt.  One  does  not  appreciate  the  sky  until 
after  being  in  a  city,  and  especially  in  a  Chinese  city, 
with  its  narrow  streets  and  small  courts.  The  contrast 
between  being  shut  up  in  our  little  yard,  with  its  high 
wall  of  yellow  mud  and  tantalizing  bit  of  blue  overhead, 
and  riding  across  broad,  grassy  plains,  with  the  whole 
dome  of  heaven  above,  was  very  great.  The  week^s  ride 
will  be  long  remembered  as  one  of  the  pleasant  things  of 
life. 

"Going  to  an  inn,  we  found  the  best  room  occupied, 
and  were  obliged  to  take  a  large  one,  where  there  was  al- 
ready a  party  of  card  players,  and  from  which  two  other 
rooms  opened.  After  the  players  left  Mrs.  Gulick 
partitioned  off  the  ^kang,'  or  brick  platform  for  beds, 
with  a  sheet,  and  we  were  soon  soundly  asleep. 

"  Our  host  and  his  son  occupied  one  of  the  rooms  open- 
ing from  ours,  and,  early  in  the  morning,  they  were 
running  back  and  forth  through  our  room.  The  day  was 
the  sixth  of  the  sixth  Chinese  month — a  great  festival — 
and  it  was  essential  that  the  gods  should  be  worshipped 
in  every  room  of  the  house.  We  had  undressed  but 
partially  the  night  before,  which  was  fortunate.  Still  it 
was  a  difficult  task  to  complete  our  toilet,  for  the  silly 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  103 

young  fellow  could  not  satisfy  himself  with  gazing  at  us. 
Finally,  at  an  opportune  moment,  Mr.  Gulick  shut  him 
into  his  bedroom,  and,  preventing  the  return  of  the  old 
man  by  bolting  our  outside  door,  we  hastily  finished 
dressing. 

"  Breakfast  over,  and  prayers,  we  mounted  our  donkeys, 
and  were  off  for  Borisomo,  a  Mongol  temple  some  twenty 
miles  distant,  wishing  to  see  the  religious  ceremonies  to 
be  performed  there. 

**  We  lost  the  road,  and,  stopping  to  inquire  at  some 
Mongol  huts,  found  none  but  women  at  home.  After 
learning  the  direction  of  the  temple,  we  bought  some 
milk  and  cheese.  As  each  tiny  dipperful  of  milk  was 
poured  into  our  can,  they  insisted  that  the  cash  should 
be  laid  on  the  ground,  and  did  not  discover  that  the  sum 
offered  for  the  whole  quantity,  at  first,  was  greater  than 
what  they  received. 

**  We  reached  the  temple  in  time  to  see  the  chief  per- 
formance of  the  day — a  masked  dance  by  the  priests. 
We  attracted  as  much  attention  as  the  dancers ;  and 
women  crowded  around  Mrs.  Gulick  and  myself  to  look 
at  our  clothes.     Her  bead  collar  was  especially  admired. 

"  Their  dress  was  as  great  a  curiosity  to  me  as  ours  was 
to  them.  Many  had  garments  richly  embroidered,  and 
very  heavy  head-dresses.  Silver  ornaments  and  beads  of 
coral  and  many  colored  stones  hang  on  either  side  the 
face,  and  numbers  of  showy  hair  pins  looped  up  their 
braids  behind. 

"  The  leader  of  the  dance  stood  in  the  centre.  All  were 
dressed  in  yellow  garments.  Among  the  masks  were  deer 
and  goat  heads,  frightful  human  faces,  and  some  quite 
indescribable.  The  dance  was  accompanied  by  the 
music  of  horns,  cymbals  and  drums.  The  horns  were  of 
brass  and  about  ten  feet  long.  Following  the  circle  of 
dancers  came  other  priests,    repeating  prayers.     They 


104  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

wore  yellow  caps,  shaped  like  Eomau  helmets.  Last 
in  the  procession  came  a  car  containing  a  female  idol. 
Plates  of  cheese  and  apples  were  set  before  her.  When 
the  car  stopped  women  knelt  and  crawled  under  it. 
The  dancers,  having  passed  around  the  temple,  came 
again  into  the  outer  temple  court.  The  horns  gave  a 
deafening  blast,  and  the  circle  formed  again  for  the 
dance.  It  was  wilder  than  ever.  One  by  one  finished 
his  dance  in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  making  the  most 
frantic  leaps,  and  then,  going  into  the  large  temple,  laid 
aside  his  mask.  Afterwards  all  exchanged  their  gowns 
and  helmets  for  every-day  garments  at  the  door  of  a 
building  in  the  rear.  Then  the  idol  was  placed  in  the 
temple,  and,  bowing  their  heads  to  the  ground,  all  were 
sprinkled  with  holy  water. 

"  While  Mr.  Gulick  was  gone  to  distribute  books,  and 
Mr.  Williams  to  watch  our  animals  feeding  on  the  plain, 
a  pleasant  faced  Mongol  woman  came  to  me,  and  by  signs 
asked  us  to  drink  tea  and  sleep  at  her  tent.  I  assented, 
and  when  the  rest  returned  we  left  the  temple.  Mrs. 
Gulick  and  I  went  directly  to  the  good  woman's  hut. 
.She  welcomed  us  most  heartily.  We  sat  by  the  argol 
fire,  and  watched  the  process  of  making  tea.  When  the 
large  potful  was  boiling  our  hostess  put  salt,  butter,  and 
a  quantity  of  milk  into  it,  dipping  up  and  pouring  back 
the  mixture  rapidly.  Going  outdoors,  mats  were 
brought,  and  afterwards  bowls  of  tea,  which  tasted 
somewhat  like  soup. 

"After  Mrs.  Gulick  had  used  up  her  Mongol,  we  did 
not  know  how  to  fill  up  the  silence.  The  best  we  could  do 
was  to  sip  tea  with  great  apparent  gusto,  and  smile  back 
on  our  smiling  hostess.  We  were  greatly  relieved  by  the 
arrival  of  our  husbands  and  a  fine  looking  Thibetan  from 
a  neighboring  tent.  He  spoke  three  languages, — 
Thibetan,  Mongolian,  and  Chinese, — and  was  quite  Intel- 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  105 

ligent  and  cordial.  He  urged  us  strongly  to  spend  the 
night  with  him,  but  we  chose  to  accept  the  first  invitation. 

^*  After  nightfall  we  disposed  of  ourselves  in  the  tent 
on  two  sides  of  the  fire.  The  cooking  utensils  and  door 
were  on  the  other  sides.  We  were  ready  to  sleep,  but 
our  hostess  and  the  young  priest  still  sat  watching  us, 
although  they  had  offered  us  their  tents,  saying  they 
would  go  to  a  neighbor's.  There  was  no  room  for  them 
to  lie  down,  and  we  did  not  fancy  being  watched ;  so, 
after  half  an  hour  or  more,  we  suggested  that  we  would 
not  detain  them.  After  other  hints,  which  finally  be- 
came very  broad,  they  went  away,  first  insisting  on  clos- 
ing the  hole  at  the  top  of  the  tent  and  also  the  door. 
We  should  have  been  smothered  by  the  smoke  of  the 
argol  fire,  if  we  had  not  succeeded  in  having  the  cover- 
ing removed  from  the  top  of  the  roof. 

**  We  returned  to  Sher-pa-tai,  and,  after  Mr.  Williams 
had  bought  a  cow  from  a  Mongol  gentleman,  TJr-she-ran- 
ga-rig-go  by  name,  we  visited  another  temple,  five  miles 
distant.  A  Mongol  prince  resides  here.  Apparently  the 
family  are  wealthy,  for  the  temple  is  quite  handsome, 
and  kept  in  good  order.  The  prince  and  several  of  his 
sons  were  away  from  home,  but  we  saw  his  brother,  the 
priest,  and  one  of  his  sons,  also  a  priest.  The  princess 
and  her  daughter  came  into  the  reception  room  for  a  little 
while.  She  was  a  fat,  good-natured  body,  and  the  young 
lady  was  rather  good  looking. 

**  We  looked  at  the  outside  of  the  temple,  and  through 
shutters  which  were  opened  for  us,  but  did  not  have  per- 
mission to  enter.  Some  of  the  exterior  decorations  were 
very  interesting,  being  plainly  after  Hindoo  models. 
Chinese  architecture  decorated  with  Indian  pictures  gives 
a  partial  clue  to  the  Mongol  character.  The  Mongol  is 
in  many  ways  independent,  but  in  some  respects  has 
been,  and  is  still,  dependent  and  easily  influenced. 


106  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*' During  our  call  tea  was  offered,  aud  our  cups  filled 
constantly.  We  were  also  served  to  cheese,  and  parched 
miUet  in  some  cream.  I  did  not  fancy  this  dish,  but  be- 
ing unable  to  talk  was  obliged  to  eat  it  very  industriously, 
with  (I  flatter  myself)  a  delighted  expression  of  counte- 
nance. 

*^  Mongol  cheese  is  simply  the  curd  of  milk  pressed  out 
and  dried.  I  was  curious  to  taste  some  that  was  quite  dry, 
and  rued  it  very  much.  I  bit  off  a  piece  at  great  risk  to 
my  teeth ;  but  a  scrap  of  sole  leather  would  have  been 
more  easily  masticated.  Both  ladies  were  watching  me, 
and  I  could  neither  chew  the  piece  in  my  mouth  nor  see 
how  to  dispose  of  the  long  strip  in  my  hand.  Of  course 
I  gave  Mr.  Williams  a  piece,  and  enjoyed  seeing  him  go 
through  the  same  perplexity.  Finally  I  succeeded  in 
hiding  the  rest  in  my  handkerchief,  and  have  it  now  laid 
away  in  one  of  my  drawers. 

^*I  enjoyed  the  talk  in  Chinese  very  much.  Mr.  Will- 
iams and  I  understand  enough  to  make  it  a  pleasure  to 
listen,  generally.  One's  mind  must  be  alive  and  alert  to 
catch  what  is  said,  and  there  is  a  sort  of  excitement  about 
it.  When  I  am  tired,  however,  and  an  avalanche  of 
words  comes  down  on  me,  as  there  does  if  our  servants 
are  in  a  sociable  mood,  I  become  utterly  discouraged,  and 
at  intervals  of  five  or  ten  minutes  say,  *  I  don't  under- 
stand,' in  a  way  that  ought  to  touch  the  feelings  of  the 
most  inveterate  gabbler. 

"  There  are  about  eighty  Mongols  living  in  this  village 
of  from  twenty  to  thirty  tents.  These  tents  are,  in  shape, 
much  like  the  Indian  huts  of  bark.  The  frame  is  of 
wood,  covered  with  felt.  They  present  a  picturesque  ap- 
pearance. 

"Friday  morning  Mr.  Ur-she-ran-ga- rig-go  brought 
our  cow  and  calf.  The  cow  has  very  peculiar  hoofs, — 
filed  runners,  Mr.  Williams  calls  them.     He  declares  they 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  107 

were  of  great  service  in  getting  her  down  to  Kalgan. 
The  rope  was  tied  to  the  pommel  of  the  horse's  saddle, 
and  when  she  was  tired  sliding  down-hill  on  her  feet,  she 
varied  that  exercise  by  running  unexpectedly  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  and  lying  down  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  The  calf  behaved  nicely,  setting  a  good  example 
both  to  its  mother  and  '  Funny  Fun,^  which  they  did  not 
choose  to  follow.  The  little  colt  donkey  amused  itself  by 
turning  somersaults  over  the  cow's  rope,  stopping  to 
gaze  at  the  scenery  till  we  were  half  a  mile  ahead,  and 
had  to  go  back  after  it ;  and  then  rushing  up  to  us  at 
such  a  pace  that  the  old  cow  was  quite  scared  out  of  the 
few  wits  she  may  once  have  possessed. 

^^  Our  noon  resting-place  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
in  all  Mongolia,  I  feel  sure.  There  was  keen  pleasure  in 
the  novelty  and  freedom  of  the  whole  week,  and  our  en- 
joyment of  it  had  been  intense,  but  this  was  the  crown  of 
all.  I  cannot  describe  it.  The  remembrance  is  like  a 
beautiful  dream.  Lovely  wild  flowers  at  our  feet,  such 
as  are  familiar  in  home  gardens,  green  fields  and  grassy 
hillsides  about  us ;  and  towering  one  above  another  the 
purple  mountains,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The 
day  was  perfect,  and  our  pleasure  complete. 

"  We  rode  in  company  with  several  men  that  day,  as 
well  as  on  previous  ones,  with  whom  Mr.  Gulick  con- 
versed on  religious  and  other  subjects.  One  was  very, 
very  urgent  that  we  should  visit  him ;  and  we  should 
have  been  glad  to  do  so  if  there  had  been  time. 

**  At  night  we  reached  a  village  seven  miles  from  this 
city,  and  were  again  obliged  to  stop  at  an  inn  where  there 
was  but  one  vacant  room,  and  that  a  small  one,  having 
but  one  kang  in  it.  But  by  this  time  we  were  so  well 
used  to  new  ways  of  doing  things  that  we  very  composedly 
accommodated  ourselves  to  our  circumstances. 

"  Mr.  Gulick  went  out  into  the  village  to  sell  tracts  and 


108  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

preach.  He  sells  books  in  preference  to  giving  them, 
saying  that  one  book  sold  is  better  than  ten  given,  as  it 
is  sure  to  be  read. 

**  Meanwhile  a  crowd  gathered  to  see  us,  pushing  holes 
in  the  paper  windows,  after  we  closed  our  doors.  But 
we  fastened  a  sheet  and  shawl  at  the  windows,  so  that 
even  those  who  had  climbed  to  the  roof  to  gaze  in  were 
disappointed.  With  a  high  bench,  curtained  with  shawls, 
we  divided  the  kang,  thus  making  two  rooms.  The  whole 
kang  was  not  much  longer  than  an  ordinary  bedstead.  It 
was  somewhat  wider,  but  Mr.  Williams  had  to  make  tassels 
of  his  feet.  How  Mr.  Gulick  disposed  of  himself  remains 
a  mystery. 

**The  next  morning,  as  our  picnic  was  almost  done, 
wishing  to  make  the  most  of  it,  we  carried  with  us  our 
breakfast,  and  stopped  to  eat  it  when  out  of  sight  of  the 
village.  The  morning  was  a  charming  one,  and  we  felt 
very  happy,  sitting  in  the  shadows  of  the  great  rocks. 
There  we  had  our  devotions.  Mr.  Williams  prayed  that 
we  might  live  remembering  that  we  were  strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  the  earth,  journeying  to  a  better  country ; 
and  that  during  this  pilgrimage  we  might  have  God's 
presence  with  us — His  arm  about  us ;  and  that  our  feet 
might  stand  firmly  on  His  promises — those  gracious 
promises  more  sure  than  the  unchanging  hills. 

**So  we  came  home,   happier  and  stronger,  both  in 
body  and  mind,  ready  and  eager  for  work  again. 
"Your  sister, 

"  Isabella  E.  Williams." 

"  Kalgauj  July  22 j  1867. 
"My  Dear  Father  : 

"Did  I  tell  you  how  forcible  the  thought  you  gave 
me  when  speaking  of  Martha^ s  marriage  seemed  to  me! 
You  wrote : — ^  We  are  alone  again.    As  one  after  another 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  109 

goes  away  to  make  a  new  home,  we  seem  like  a  tree  that 
has  reached  its  growth,  and  one  limb  after  another  falls 
off.  This  is  the  law  of  earth.  The  law  of  heaven  will, 
I  think,  not  be  so.'  How  comforting  the  last  thought. 
May  we  not  hope  that  at  last  the  tree  shall  stand  in  Jeru- 
salem the  Golden, — complete,  perfect,  with  no  branch 
wanting,  none  marred  ?  " 

(To  her  mother.) 

" .  .  .  I  feel  quite  sure  that  if  I  keep  always  before 
my  mind  the  idea  that  I  must  write  a  letter  which  will  do 
to  show,  that  you  won't  like  my  letters  half  as  well  as 
you  do  now,  and  that  they  won't  be  half  as  good. 

"  When  I  came  to  China,  it  seemed  as  if  my  heart  was 
shut  up,  and  I  couldn't  learn  to  love  anybody  on  this  side 
of  the  sea.  I  liked  people  very  much,  but  that  was  all. 
But  Mr.  Blodget  did  me  good  :  he  was  so  kind  and  gentle 
to  us  all.  Then  Lyman's  death  brought  us  near  to  the 
Chapins,  and  I  love  them  very  much  too.  And  now  be- 
ing with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick,  I  have  come  to  love  them 
dearly.  They  have  been  as  tenderly  kind  and  careful  of 
me,  in  all  possible  ways,  as  if  they  were  my  own  brother 
and  sister.  You  can  understand  how  such  tender  thought- 
fulness  touches  me  now  when  I  need  it.  My  heart  needs 
it,  at  least.     I  am  so  much  happier  than  I  was.     .     .    .  " 

Many  years  afterwards,  Dr.  John  T.  Gulick  wrote  of 
their  work  and  fellowship  :  "Those  were  great  days  in 
the  opening  of  a  new  era  for  China.  Hudson  Taylor  told 
me  that  our  success  in  getting  into  Kalgan  and  in  stay- 
ing there  for  permanent  work,  was  a  great  encouragement 
to  him  in  his  efforts  to  get  into  the  interior. 

**  It  was  as  workers  together,  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
that  we  made  the  beginning.  I  want  to  write  you  some 
things  which  abide  in  my  memory  of  your  mother.  She 
was  a  person  to  whom  each  day's  experiences  came  as  the 


110  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

most  intense  realities,  and  not  as  the  drifting  tide  of  life. 
By  nature  she  was  deeply  concerned  with  each  event  that 
touched  her  life,  and  ardently  longed  for  the  attainment 
of  the  highest  ideals  for  herself  and  others.  With  in- 
tense sensibilities  that  were  stirred  by  the  sufferings  of 
others  as  well  as  by  the  depressing  conditions  that  crowd 
in  one's  own  life,  a  tinge  of  sadness  sometimes  crept  over 
her  inner  life,  but  when  the  waves  were  running  high 
over  her  own  soul,  she  never  lost  her  tender  sympathy 
for  others. 

"An  insatiable  longing  for  friendship  that  is  never 
fully  satisfied  in  this  life,  was  one  of  her  marked  experi- 
ences. She  poured  out  her  life  for  others,  and  to  her  has 
been  given  the  life  more  abundant.'^ 

**  Kalgan^  July  24,  1867, 
"  I  professed  to  begin  housekeeping  day  before  yester- 
day. The  fact  that  we  are  at  last  in  a  home  of  our  own, 
was  made  real,  yesterday,  by  the  arrival  of  our  guests 
from  Peking,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodrich.  I  think  I  shall 
give  you  a  new  edition  of  the  history  of  a  day. 

"See  me  fresh  and  ready  for  work  at  five  o'clock. 
Since  our  Mongolian  trip  I  have  felt  thoroughly  well, 
and  as  if  made  with  springs. 

"First  there  were  the  storeroom  and  bedroom  to  be  re- 
duced from  chaos  to  order.  Everything  had  been  moved 
in  quite  hurriedly  the  day  before.  The  dining-room  also 
was  to  be  put  to  rights.  Tswei  Ma,  the  Manchu  woman 
Mrs.  Goodrich  had  brought  from  Peking  for  me,  came  in, 
and  we  worked  together.  Our  methods  did  not  quite 
agree,  however.  She  preferred  to  sweep  only  the  middle 
of  the  floors,  leaving  coal  under,  and  behind  the  stove,  as 
well  as  bits  of  paper  under  the  table,  and  in  the  corners. 
I  found  it  necessary  to  point  to  each  spot,  as  she  could 
remember  but  one  at  a  time.    She  was  good-natured 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  111 

about  it  all,  and  I  knew  beforehand  what  to  expect,  so 
that  we  got  along  nicely.  I  went  out  to  the  kitchen  on 
an  errand,  and  saw  something  there,  which  I  did  not  ex- 
pect, however  !  The  night  before  I  gave  Tswei  Ma  a 
towel,  which  was  to  be  used  for  the  spoons  and  teacups. 
I  impressed  it  on  her  that  she  was  not  to  use  it  for  the 
pots.  I  explained  carefully,  that  after  using  it,  she  was 
to  wash  it,  and  hang  it  out  to  dry.  My  satisfaction  on 
the  dish  towel  question  received  a  sad  blow,  for  as  I  went 
into  the  kitchen,  what  should  I  see  but  the  cook  washing 
his  ears  and  neck  with  the  clean,  new  towel !  *  Is  that 
yours ?^  I  said  calmly.  *No,  it's  the  dish  towel, ^  was 
the  answer,  in  a  most  innocent  tone.  *  It  isn'  t  our  foreign 
custom  to  use  dish  towels  for  our  ears,'  I  remarked,  and 
walked  off  to  recover  from  my  astonishment  and  dis- 
may. 

"Next,  the  salt-rising  bread  was  to  be  made  and  the 
clothes  folded  for  ironing.  Then  I  changed  my  dress, 
and  sat  down  with  my  sewing  for  a  few  minutes,  while 
Tswei  Ma  made  the  bed  in  quite  an  original  way,  putting 
one  of  the  sheets  outside  of  everything  else !  I  think, 
however,  that  the  good  woman  has  the  ability  to  learn 
how  to  do  tilings. 

"  By  this  time  it  was  half- past  seven,  time  for  Chinese 
morning  prayers.  Breakfast  came  after  prayers,  as  usual. 
Tsai  Yu  had  fried  the  beef  nicely,  and  we  had  eggplant, 
millet,  potatoes  and  cucumbers.  We  finished  up  with 
bread  and  milk  and  stewed  apples.  I  was  quite  pleased 
and  encouraged  with  my  first  housekeeping  attempts 
when  Mr.  Goodrich  declared  it  was  the  best  breakfast  he 
had  had  for  a  long  time.  Milk  is  a  great  luxury  to  us. 
At  Peking  they  can  buy  milk  made  mostly  of  water  and 
bean  curd,  but  here  we  cannot  get  even  that !  After 
breakfast  I  unpacked  my  dishes,  and  wiped  while  Tswei 
Ma  washed,  and  then  showed  her  all  the  places  for  the 


112  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

dishes,  knives,  forks  and  spoons.  After  reading  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  Mark  with  the  teacher,  I  sent  the 
cook  to  bay  millet,  flour  and  oatmeal.  Then  the  fruit 
man  came,  and  we  bought  fifty  plums  for  less  than  three 
cents. 

"  This  afternoon  I  made  my  bread  and  ironed.  Then  I 
went  in  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodrich,  and  played  and 
sang  a  while.  Mr.  Goodrich  is  a  fine  singer,  and  plays 
the  flute  well.  His  progress  in  Chinese  has  been  remark- 
able. It  is  quite  noticeable  how  much  more  easily  those 
who  can  sing  learn  Chinese  than  others  do. 

^'  Did  I  tell  you  that  Tswei  Ma  is  a  widow  ?  She  has 
her  two  little  boys  with  her.  We  support  one  and  she 
the  other,  and  both  go  to  Mr.  Gulick's  school.  They  are 
nice,  bright  boys.  We  thought  we  were  surely  able  to 
feed  and  clothe  one  boy,  when  Mr.  Gulick  does  it  for 
three,  and  pays  the  school-teacher  out  of  his  own  salary 
besides. 

"  Love  to  all  the  good  Beloit  friends. 

^^Your 

*^  Isabella.^' 

"  KalgaUy  Aug.  1,  1867. 
"  Dear  Good  Home  Folks  : 

*^It  has  occurred  to  me  that  if  I  write  you  any 
more  letters  at  present,  I  shall  have  to  do  it  before  break- 
fast, as  I  can  generally  have  a  few  moments  of  leisure 
then.  I  do  not  so  decidedly  need  to  see  to  my  kitchen 
folks  then,  although  the  cook  may  forget  part  of  the 
breakfast  until  almost  eight,  and  my  good  woman  will 
certainly  leave  half  the  dust  at  the  sills  of  the  bedroom 
and  dining-room,  and  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  putting  on 
the  bedclothes  properly  without  my  help  !  I  flatter  my- 
self, however,  that  she  has  learned  to-day,  and  will  prove 
herself  equal  to  the  task  alone,  to-morrow.     .    .    ," 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  113 

^^  September  21j  1867. 

"  I  have  been  very  happy  in  getting  so  many  letters 
from  you  lately,  though  I  have  not  shown  it  by  writing 
much  in  return.  We  have  been  having  lively  times  in 
Kalgan,  in  comparison  to  the  common  state  of  things. 
We  have  had  company  all  summer,  but  I  have  been  very 
well  on  the  whole,  and  have  worked  hard  enough  to  keep 
so.  With  two  servants,  one  would  think  I  would  have 
nothing  to  do,  but  it's  very  far  from  that.  If  I  had  our 
house  in  Beloit  to  live  in,  I  could  live  more  easily,  doing 
my  own  work,  than  I  do  here  with  two  servants.  Our 
man  does  as  well  as  he  knows  how,  although  he  some- 
times cooks  execrably.  But  Tswei  Ma  is  as  lazy  as  the 
laziest  ! 

"If  there  is  a  Dakota  Dictionary  to  be  had,  and  papa 
does  not  think  it  extravagant  for  me  to  have  it,  I  should 
like  to  buy  one.  The  grammar  of  the  language  is  some- 
thing about  which  I  am  often  questioned,  and  there  are  a 
number  of  missionary  gentlemen  who  would  be  interested 
in  comparing  it  with  the  Mongol,  Chinese  and  Thibetan. 

"Mr.  Blodget  goes  back  to  Peking  in  a  few  days. 
Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  and  his  wife  may  go  next  week. 
When  they  are  gone  it  will  be  so  lonely  that  we  shall 
have  to  clean  house  to  divert  our  minds  !  '^ 

On  September  25,  1867,  a  baby  girl  came  into  the  home 
at  Kalgan.     Mr.  Williams  wrote  on  the  twenty -sixth  :  — 

"Dear  Father  and  Mother  Eiggs  : 

"Yesterday  a  little  daughter  came  to  us.  The 
youngster  has  just  been  weighed, — seven  pounds.  As  to 
the  appearance  of  the  child,  I  will  tell  you  that  she  is 
rather  good  looking.  We  remembered  that  the  day  was 
Henry's  birthday.  As  the  baby  is  a  girl,  he  escapes 
having  her  named  after  him,  but  we  have  done  the  next 


114  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

best  thing, — we  intend  calling  her  Henrietta.  The  whole 
name  is  to  be  Henrietta  Blodget,  so  that  she  may  be  con- 
sidered also  as  named  for  Eev.  Henry  Blodget,  who,  as 
pioneer  of  the  North  China  Mission,  deserves  to  have  all 
the  babies  named  after  him." 

On  I^ovember  22d,  Isabella  wrote  to  her  mother :  — 
*^  I  must  tell  you  some  of  the  compliments  my  baby  has 
received.     Our  washerwoman   says  she  is  hao  ti  U  hai 
(equivalent  to  Herribly  nice  ^) !    Tswei  Ma  says,  '  Why, 
she  looks  just  like  our  babies  !  ^ 

f  *  Mr.  Blodget  has  just  sent  her  the  cunningest  of  knit 
socks, — blue  and  white, — and  a  soft  ball.  I  sent  to 
Tientsin  for  calico  for  a  dress,  but  Mrs.  Stanley  misun- 
derstood me,  and  has  sent  me  some  curtain  calico,  very 
pretty  and  nice,  to  be  sure,  but  hardly  the  thing  for  this 
winter's  wear  !  We  are  just  back  from  a  walk.  I  mean 
to  go  out  nearly  every  day,  so  as  to  keep  well  for  baby's 
sake." 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  Miss  Naomi  Diament, 
her  roommate  at  the  Western  Seminary,  and  afterwards 
her  lifelong  friend  and  associate  in  the  Kalgan  work. 

^^Kalgan,  Dee.  ^,  1867, 
"  You  would  enjoy  sitting  by  this  nice  coal  fire  with 
me.  I  know  I  should  have  to  talk  about  the  baby,  and 
ask  you  about  your  school,  and  there  are  ever  so  many 
things  you  would  want  to  know.  The  baby  is  a  great 
comfort  to  me.  I  have  not  been  so  well  for  a  long  time 
as  I  am  now. 

"If  you  were  to  take  a  walk  with  me  this  afternoon, 
you  would  see  a  great  many  strange  things.  Red-faced 
Mongols  dressed  in  skins,  bouncing  between  the  two 
humps  of  their  camels,  or  galloping  on  restless  horses 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  115 

ahead  of  long  trains  of  soda  carts,  tea-laden  camels,  or 
perhaps  a  great  flock  of  fat- tailed  sheep.  While  we  wait 
for  them  to  pass,  we  can  look  about  us.  Opposite,  across 
this  lane,  is  a  melon  stand.  Perhaps  you  are  Chinaman 
enough  to  have  a  piece.  I  am  not.  If  you  are,  save  the 
seeds  and  throw  them  into  this  willow  basket,  and  the 
man  will  have  them  salted.  Then  after  a  while  his  little 
boy  will  carry  them  around  with  peanuts,  salted  apricot 
kernels,  and  hickory-nuts,  so  that  you  may  pay  your  cash 
and  get  them  back  !  Yonder  are  carts  of  green  oats  and 
hemp-seed  cake.  We  feed  our  cow  on  these.  The  oat 
crop  has  been  a  failure,  and  oatmeal  has  gone  from  two 
and  a  half  cents  per  catty  to  four  or  five.  Poor  folks 
have  to  confine  themselves  to  millet.  Wheat  flour  they 
cannot  afford,  as  that  is  five  to  six  cents  per  catty. 

*^Here  comes  a  man  with  dusting  brushes  made  of 
chicken  feathers,  and  there  across  the  street  is  one  carry- 
ing a  quantity  of  pots  and  teakettles  of  a  cheap  earthen- 
ware. A  pot  large  enough  to  cook  for  our  family  I  can 
get  for  four  or  five  cents.  A  pint  teakettle  will  cost  one 
and  a  half  cents*     They  are  very  easily  broken. 

"  Walk  up  the  street,  and  we  shall  see  yonder,  a  boy 
who  is  cobbling  shoes.  The  shoes  are  of  cloth,  not  leather. 
*What  are  those  open  furnaces  for?'  Those  are  the 
travelling  kitchens.  You  can  have  a  bowl  of  bean  curd, 
rolled  flour,  or  some  other  equally  delectable  stuff.  Here 
are  twelve  cash  if  you  want  to  try  it.  Look  around  you. 
Here  right  out  in  the  street  is  everything  imaginable 
spread  out  for  sale ;  cotton  cloth,  shoes,  Second-hand 
clothing  and  bedding,  peas,  persimmons,  nuts,  red  haws, 
and  radishes.  There  is  a  load  of  chou  mei  (poor  coal).  I 
see  it  has  been  plentifully  watered,  so  that  eighty 
catties  will  weigh  100.  We'll  not  buy,  as  we've  been 
cheated  once  that  way  this  fall.  We  usually  get  very 
good  coal,  and  it  is  cheap,  much  more  so  than  at  Tientsin 


116  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

or  Peking.  We  are  paying  for  our  coal  only  thirty  to 
thirty-four  cents  (in  silver)  per  hundred  catties  (133 
pounds).  Other  kinds  having  less  smoke  are  sixty  to 
eighty  cents  per  hundred.  They  are  better  for  the 
Chinese,  as  most  of  their  fires  are  open,  letting  all  the 
smoke  into  the  room,  but  we  can  use  the  cheaper  kind  in 
our  stoves. 

"  The  camels  have  passed,  and  we'll  go  and  make  Mrs. 
Gulick  a  morning  call.  ^  Why,  you  go  about  here  as  if 
you  were  at  home  ! '  Yes,  it  is  only  a  three  minutes' 
walk.  I  should  not  wish  to  take  long  walks  alone, 
though  I  don't  know  that  it  would  be  unsafe.  Mr.  Will- 
iams was  telling  me  the  other  day  that  he  had  been  to 
what  is  called  the  Wolf's  Den,  a  little  temple  on  the 
mountains  near  us.  The  story  of  the  Den  is  this.  A  man 
wishing  to  commit  suicide  built  this  temple,  dedicating 
it  to  the  wolves.  He  represented  that  people  about  to 
kill  themselves  would  do  well  to  follow  the  example  he 
was  intending  to  set,  and  do  so  in  this  temple  where  the 
wolves  would  be  sure  to  eat  them.  This  would  be  meri- 
torious, as  the  wolves  would  be  less  hungry,  and  less 
likely  to  eat  men  who  still  enjoyed  gathering  argol,  or 
begging  in  rags  for  their  living.  The  truth  of  this  struck 
a  good  many,  and  suicides  became  so  fashionable  that  the 
town  ofl&cials  were  obliged  to  issue  a  law  forbidding  peo- 
ple to  kill  themselves  in  the  Den. 

"  We  have  a  little  orphan  boy  with  us  now,  and  think 
of  taking  another.  The  boy  goes  to  Mr.  Gulick' s  school. 
Mrs.  Gulick  is  one  of  the  kindest  of  friends.  Indeed,  one 
could  not  find  better  friends  than  she  and  Mr.  Gulick  are 
to  us.  This  is  a  matter  of  real  gratitude.  God  has  been 
kinder  to  us  than  we  expected,  in  more  ways  than  this 
one. 

"You  say  my  letters  are  a  comfort  to  you  and  you 
need   them.    Somehow  I  had  forgotten  that  anybody 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  117 

needed  my  letters.  I  know  I  need  yours,  and  those  of 
other  friends,  but  had  not  thought  of  the  other  side  of 
the  matter. 

''  While  I  write  this  last,  I  am  sitting  on  the  Icang  by 
the  window,  to  catch  the  last  light  of  the  day.  It  is  only 
four  o^  clock,  but  twilight  comes  early  within  these  high 
walls. 

"  God  bless  you  and  good-bye.     .     .     .'^ 

"  Kalgan,  June  18 j  1868, 
"  Dear  Alfred  and  Mary  : 

^'  Yesterday  I  finished  reading  Matthew  in  Chinese. 
I  feel  quite  encouraged.  .  .  .  Mr.  Williams  has  gone 
down-town  to  change  a  *  shoe '  of  silver.  I  wish  I  could 
send  you  a  Chinese  bank  bill,  but  I  think  PU  have  to 
wait  for  a  bank  to  break  ! 

**  We  have  green  vegetables  now,  radishes,  cucumbers 
and  string  beans.  To-day  the  first  apricots  came  in. 
They  will  be  very  abundant  by  and  by,  but  are  not  a  very 
valuable  kind  of  fruit.  Where  British  soldiers  have 
been  stationed  on  the  Mediterranean,  apricots  are  called 
*  Kill  Johns.'  I  hope  some  one  will  be  a  missionary  to 
the  fruit  trees  here  in  China  some  day,  and  graft  on  some 
really  good  fruit. 

*^  I  get  up  in  the  middle  of  each  sentence  to  see  the 
baby.  I  had  her  by  me  in  her  chair  ;  bat  she  would 
throw  all  her  playthings  on  the  floor,  so  I've  put  her  in 
the  crib.  I  have  to  go  to  her  every  few  minutes,  for  like 
Dagon,  she  falls  on  her  face,  and  can't  yet  get  up  herself." 

^^Kalgan,  Nov.  8,  1868. 
"Dear  Anna: 

" .  .  .  You  asked  what  I  sing  in  the  *  Coronet.' 
Only  our  old  favorites.  *  Sheridan,'  *  Evening  Star,'  and 
'  Farewell,  Father '  are  past  their  time  with  you,  but  we 


118  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

in  China  move  more  slowly.  '  Sheridan  ^  was  called  for 
constantly  at  Peking  and  Tientsin.  It  has  a  ring  to  it 
that  stirs  folks  up. 

^' I  haven't  read  ^  Felix  Holt/  nor  have  I  read  any 
other  story  for  a  long  time.  My  novel  reading  has  been 
done,  or  rather  is  not  to  be  done,  I  think.  Babies  and 
books  of  that  kind  don't  agree  for  the  most  part.  You 
mustu't  think  I've  become  painfully  good.  I  haven't 
forsworn  such  reading  entirely,  only  just  now  I  must 
learn  Chinese  and  take  care  of  my  house  and  baby,  and 
after  that,  maybe  I  can  have  a  girls'  school,  or  do  some- 
thing else  for  the  Chinese.  If  I  should  have  time,  ever, 
and  have  a  good  story,  I'll  read  it. 

"I've  taken  the  baby  over  to  Mr.  Gulick's  twice, 
lately,  and  have  gone  out  donkey  ridiug.  It  has  done 
me  good.  I  feel  better  every  time,  and  am  much  stronger 
than  when  I  wrote  you  last.     .     .     ." 

^^Kalgan^  Nov.  Uj  1868, 
"  Dear  Home  Friends  : 

"The  afternoon  of  the  day  we  sent  off  our  last 
home  letter  there  came  a  vigorous  ring  of  the  old  cow- 
bell which  does  duty  at  our  gate,  and  in  came  an  ^  ex- 
pressman '  with  two  girls  from  Peking.  They  bobbed  to 
the  ground  and  up  again,  asked  if  I  had  eaten,  said  it  was 
cold,  and  that  they  had  come  to  read,  all  in  the  same 
breath.  They  go  by  the  name  of  the  ^Topsies'  with  us. 
The  younger  one  out-topsies  Topsy  sometimes,  in  my 
opinion.  Such  a  case!  They  were  street  beggars  in 
Peking. 

"  The  next  event  was  the  arrival  of  my  box, — the  box  ! 
The  Dakota  Dictionary  I  have  hardly  seen  yet,  as  Mr. 
Gulick  said  it  was  just  what  he  wanted,  and  carried  it  off 
that  night.  I  like  the  music  Anna  sent  me  very  much. 
The  footstool  is  famous.     So  nice  to  have  a  bit  of  your 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  119 

home  carpet !  Baby's  napkin-ring  is  laid  away  at  pres- 
ent. When  she  is  considerably  older,  it  will  come  in  use. 
My  aprons  please  me  much.  I  like  the  alpaca  apron 
with  its  red  braid.  It  is  nice  to  be  gay  once  in  a  while. 
^Kathrina'  I  enjoyed  soon  after  opening  the  box,  and 
shall  enjoy  it  again.  *  Snow-Bound '  I  have  read  before, 
and  wanted  a  copy.  Here  it  has  come,  truly  the  reward 
of  virtue,  for  last  year  I  self-sacrificingly  marked  it  off 
the  list  of  books  we  sent  for.  I  haven't  made  the  dress 
mamma  sent  Henrietta,  but  will  before  long.  It  will  be 
her  best  dress  this  winter.  Tell  Mary  the  brilliant  will 
become  the  baby  beautifully.  Imagine  her  in  it  next 
summer.  Then  the  lamp-mat !  I  wanted  one,  but  I  am 
afraid  I  shall  be  too  choice  of  this  to  use  it,  as  I  am  of 
the  iron-holder  and  clothes-bag  Cornelia  gave  me  when  I 
came  from  home.  I  never  allow  any  one  but  myself  to 
use  that  holder ! 

"Mr.  Williams  has  a  weakness  for  nice  neckties,  and 
he  wishes  me  to  say  *  Hsieh  Hsieh '  (^  Thank  you '),  which 
I  will  say  to  every  one  of  you.  Mrs.  Gulick  said  she 
must  at  least  write  you  a  note,  mamma.  She  was  greatly 
pleased  with  your  gift. 

"  Coming  in  tin,  everything  was  as  nice  as  possible.  I 
cannot  mention  everything,  nor  tell  what  good  all  did 
me.  You  must  imagine  it.  Bobbie's  pins  are  especially 
acceptable,  as  I  left  America  with  but  two  or  three  papers. 
*  Daily  Light '  I  have  begun  to  use,  and  promise  myself 
much  profit  from  it." 

^^  November  16ih. 

"I  wrote  on  Saturday  night,  when  very  tired  and 
sleepy,  though  very  eager  to  begin  my  month's  story. 

*' Since  the  home  box  came,  our  books,  canned  milk, 
potash,  and  coal-oil  arrived.  Everything  in  good  order  ; 
one  lamp  chimney  only,  broken.    We  are  too  busy  to 


120  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

read  much.  I  take  au  occasional  peep  at  a  book  when 
holdiug  Henrietta. 

''I  have  been  trying  to  sew  all  the  time  lately.  Am 
busy  with  Mark's  clothes  at  present  j  mending  coat-lin- 
ings, putting  on  braid,  washing  coat  collars,  and  last 
week  I  spent  two  days  in  making  him  a  pair  of  trousers. 
I  thought  of  getting  a  Chinese  tailor,  but  while  Mr.  Good- 
rich was  finding  one,  I  got  them  done.  The  tailor  would 
have  done  them  badly,  and  charged  two  dollars  or  more. 

^*  I  have  a  woman  here  daily  to  help  about  making  the 
children's  winter  clothes.  We  have  five  Chinese  chil- 
dren, and  one  of  our  own, — something  of  a  family.  The 
eldest  girl  makes  her  own  clothes,  and  helps  a  little  about 
the  rest. 

^*  I  took  our  girls  for  a  cart  ride  one  day.  We  went  to 
Gulick's  Glen,  and  climbed  up  to  the  Caves.  The  girls 
were  not  used  to  climbing,  and  it  took  them  so  long  to  go 
and  return  that  when  we  came  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
valley,  our  cart  had  gone.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but 
walk  home.  We  marched  along,  through  sand  and  water, 
too  much  in  earnest  about  getting  home  to  pick  good 
paths  in  the  dark.  A  great  many  men  passed  us,  but 
none  molested.  We  reached  the  Great  Gate,  which  was 
closed,  of  course,  at  such  an  hour.  I  told  the  circum- 
stances, offered  two  hundred  cash,  and  we  got  in  without 
difficulty,  reaching  home  so  thankful  that  our  rather 
perilous  adventure  had  ended  safely.  Mr.  Williams 
would  have  gone  with  us,  had  he  not  been  so  busy  over- 
seeing workmen  at  our  new  house.  He  has  succeeded  in 
renting  the  Pei  Kuan  Yin  Tang  house  which  we  have  been 
trying  to  get  all  summer.  It  is  rented  at  the  following 
rates  : — two  hundred  dollars  down,  sixty  next  year  and 
the  year  after,  and  after  that,  one  hundred  dollars  per 
year,  paid  quarterly.  Mr.  Williams  is  having  some 
papering  and  bricklaying  done,  and  two  rooms  are  to 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  121 

have  board  flooring.  We  expect  to  move  in  the  last  of 
this  week. 

*'  The  Topsies  have  marvellous  appetites.  Besides  do- 
ing wonders  in  their  own  dining-room,  they  help  eat  my 
bread  so  fast  that  I  have  to  bake  twice  as  often  as  for- 
merly. This  will  never  do  !  I  will  watch  them,  hoping  to 
teach  them  better  things. 

^'  It  is  half-past  nine.  My  last  loaves  are  to  come  out 
of  the  oven  in  a  few  minutes,  so  good-nighf 

^''November  18th. 

"My  girls  are  all  sitting  in  the  room,  sewing.  The 
three  younger  ones  are  expected  not  to  talk  for  a  little 
while,  until  I  finish  writing.  This  letter  has  not  had  a 
fair  chance.  The  best  time  which  I  have  taken  for  writ- 
ing was  the  other  night,  when  baking,  as  my  greased 
fingers  testify  on  these  last  sheets.  When  we  begin  to  use 
our  big  stove,  baking  will  be  a  shorter  process  than  now, 
when  I  can  bake  but  two  small  loaves  at  a  time. 

"  Baby  has  not  come  in  for  her  share  of  the  letter  yet. 
Her  vocabulary  is  entirely  Chinese.  She  says  ^Dou-ba^ 
C  Let  us  go  ^)  and  has  some  idea  of  what  it  means.  Show 
her  a  pin  or  a  needle,  and  you  will  hear  '  Da,  da,^  imitat- 
ing dja  (to  prick).  Hsin  Ching  spent  half  an  hour  teach- 
ing her  to  say  it.  I  hear  '  ba  ba '  in  the  cutest  tones  pos- 
sible, whenever  she  sees  Mr.  Williams. 

"  The  three  little  girls  are  washing  dishes  at  the  table 
by  which  I  write.  They  have  their  new  wadded  gar- 
ments on,  and  look  very  nice.  When  they  don't  talk 
over  much,  I  call  them  my  pao  pei-ers,  '  precious  pearls'  ! 
They  will  behave  well  a  long  time  to  be  called  that.  I 
have  had  to  whip  Topsy  very  severely  several  times. 
We  think  we  shall  like  both  girls  very  much  when  they 
are  tamed,  however  ! 

"  Mr.  Williams  gets  on  well  these  days  with  his  work- 


122  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

men.     He  is  growing  to  be  such  a  business  man,  that  I 
am  quite  proud  of  him. 

*'  I  am  having  a  splendid  opportunity  to  learn  Chinese, 
with  these  five  children  in  our  home.  If  I  don't  learn  to 
talk  well,  it  will  be  my  own  fault,  or  because  I  am 
stunned  by  such  volleys  of  words  as  are  fired  at  me  con- 
stantly.'' 

^^Kdlgan,  Bee.  19,  1868. 
"  Dear  Anna  : 

"  Mrs.  Gulick  wants  me  to  send  for  a  lot  of  machine 
needles,  so  that  she  can  break  as  many  as  she  pleases  I 

*^It  is  eleven  o'clock,  and  I  am  at  last  ready  to  write 
to  you.  The  mornings  begin  before  six  with  us.  Mr. 
Williams  gets  up  first,  makes  the  fire,  and  goes  out  to 
milk.  While  he  is  gone,  I  dress  and  clear  up  the  room, 
and  dress  the  baby.  Now  that  Wu  Ma  is  sick,  I  fold  the 
bedclothes,  and  spread  the  table,  besides  frying  meat  or 
heating  gravy,  if  we  haven't  cold,  baked  meat  on  hand. 
Then  the  cook  brings  in  rice,  millet  and  potatoes  and  we 
have  breakfast  at  eight  o'clock.  I  am  hungry  at  seven, 
but  the  cook  can't  possibly  get  ready  any  earlier  than 
eight.  After  breakfast  we  have  prayers.  Then  the 
younger  girls  wash  our  dishes,  while  the  oldest  one  pre- 
pares their  breakfast.  I  watch  them  sweep  the  fioor  and 
dust :  then  I  study,  sew,  or  attend  to  things  in  general. 
This  morning  the  washerwoman's  husband  came  for  the 
clothes.  I  do  not  have  our  washing  done  at  home  now. 
We  furnish  a  tub,  wash-board,  soap,  and  fuel  for  heating 
water,  and  have  our  washing  done  for  six  cash,  or  one 
half  cent  a  person. 

"  Next  I  put  a  piece  of  meat  thawing  to  bake  for  to- 
morrow, and  sat  down  to  write.  My  ink  will  not  work, 
but  I  struggle  on.  When  moving,  all  our  ink  was  frozen, 
which  is  a  great  misfortune  to  those  who  have  to  read  our 
letters. 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  123 

"Baby  is  wearing  Chinese  slioes  now.  Hsin  Ching 
made  them  for  her  of  some  bits  of  black  cloth,  with  white 
soles  and  blue  edge.  They  are  wadded,  and  very  nice 
for  cold  weather,  but  not  easy  to  walk  in.  She  has  to 
stay  on  the  bed  in  our  sitting-room  as  we  have  no  board 
floors,  so  she  has  no  chance  to  learn  to  walk.  Hsin  Ching 
has  made  her  a  very  pretty  wadded  garment,  bright  blue, 
with  gray  lining  and  black  edge.  Our  teacher  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  Chinese  shook  their  heads  over  her  ^  for- 
eign clothes  ^  and  prophesied  that  unless  I  let  her  be 
dressed  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  country,  she  would 
die.  They  were  all  so  pleased  when  she  had  the  new 
gown  on,  and  predicted  that  when  she  is  grown  she  will 
not  wear  ^  foreign  clothes '  at  all." 

''  Kalgan,  Jan,  6,  1869, 
"  Dear  Mamma  : 

"  Do  you  not  think  that  parents  whose  children 
reach  heaven  will  have  a  joy  unknown  to  others?  When 
all  are  gathered  about  them  there,  what  rapture  to  fall  at 
the  foot  of  the  throne,  saying,  *  Behold,  I  and  the  chil- 
dren which  the  Lord  hath  given  me.'  A  father  and 
mother  could  well  afford  to  spend  a  whole  life  of  priva- 
tion and  misery,  if,  in  consequence,  those  souls  which 
are,  in  a  most  tender  and  precious  sense,  their  own, — 
their  very  own, — shall  one  day  join  them  in  praising  their 
Saviour  Jesus. 

"  I  think  more  of  death  and  heaven  than  ever  before, 
and  with  much  pleasure  at  times.  I  do  not  look  at  the 
repulsive  aspect  of  death,  but  at  the  joy  that  will  be  re- 
vealed. Grace  to  bear  the  thought  of  separation  and  de- 
cay will  come  with  the  dying  hour.  Until  that  time,  it 
is  our  privilege  to  look  beyond  all  that  is  painful,  and 
fearful,  and  which  will  last  but  for  a  moment, — to  the 
exceeding  weight  of  glory.     I  have  realized  lately  with 


124  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

startling  distinctness  the  fact  that  we  are  all  to  pass  away, 
leaving  our  places  to  be  filled  by  others.  I  felt  it  as  one 
feels  the  ticking  of  a  clock, — the  beating  of  the  heart, — 
when  all  around  is  still. 

"Such  realization  of  eternal  things  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  pass  without  producing  fruit  in  the  life.  I  ought 
to  be  more  patient,  more  charitable,  more  loving.  As 
yet  I  have  made  but  slow  advance. 

"What  you  wrote  of  Cornelia  touched  me  very  much. 
Oh,  that  all  your  children  and  your  children's  children 
may  meet  you  in  heaven  ! " 

The  mother  never  received  this  letter,  for  before  its 
coming,  she  had  gone  to  that  heavenly  home,  to  await 
her  children  there. 

^^Kalgauj  Jan.  5,  1869. 
"Deaely  Beloved  : 

"  Happy  New  Year,  Happy  ]^ew  Year  !  We  ai-e 
so  eager  for  our  next  letters  from  home,— eager  to  know 
where  Alfred  and  Thomas  go.  I  think  so  often  of  our 
missionaries  among  the  Indians  ;  of  the  native  preachers ; 
of  the  schools.  Now  and  again  my  heart  fills  with  special 
sympathy  and  desire  for  their  good. 

"  I  left  my  writing  yesterday  to  baste  sewing  for  Mrs. 
Tsai,  look  after  the  baby,  and  finally  to  attend  the  Chi- 
nese meeting,  taking  my  brood  of  Chinese  children  under 
my  wing.  This  is  our  Week  of  Prayer.  Mr.  Goodrich 
led.  He  preaches  and  talks  incomparably  well.  I  know 
enough  of  Chinese  to  know  that.  We  are  in  the  midst  of 
some  pressing  fears  and  anxieties  about  our  oldest  girl. 
Such  fears  as  make  one  silent  before  God,  with  an  un- 
spoken petition  lying  always  in  the  heart.  I  love  her, 
and  have  hoped  that  she  was  a  Christian.     So  I  still  hope. 

"Baby  is  learning  to  talk,  every  day,  chiefly  in  Chi- 
nese.    She  is  a  dear  little  treasure.     She  looks  very 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  126 

festive  to-day  in  her  new  dress,  mamma's  gift,  which  I 
am  letting  her  wear  with  some  good,  big  aprons,  while 
her  Chinese  dress  is  being  washed.  Baby  delights  in 
standing  alone.  She  does  it  on  the  bed,  and  in  Chinese 
shoes,  which  is  something  more  than  standing  on  the 
floor. 

'*  We  have  had  pictures  painted  for  the  panels  of  the 
door  between  our  bedroom  and  this  room.  They  repre- 
sent the  four  seasons.  One  is  quite  pretty,  lotus  flowers 
and  leaves.  Adjoining,  is  the  panelled  woodwork  mak- 
ing the  China  closet,  which  is  to  have  texts  of  Scripture 
instead  of  the  Chinese  classics  which  fill  the  panels  now. 

"There  is  a  Mohammedan  rebellion  seven  hundred  li 
from  here.  I  hope  it  will  not  prove  formidable.  All 
sorts  of  idle  rumors  are  afloat.  A  man  died  in  the  house 
adjoining  ours.  His  friends  attribute  his  death  to  our 
being  here. 

"  Baby  had  a  lovely  Christmas  Day.  She  was  radi- 
antly happy  over  her  flaxen -haired  doll,  her  box  of  alpha- 
bet blocks,  her  book  about  the  *  kittens  who  lost  their 
mittens,'  and  her  toy  from  'Uncle  Thompson.'  Mrs. 
Gulick  invited  us  to  dinner  on  Christmas  Day,  and  we 
invited  everybody  for  New  Year's.  We  had  chicken  pie 
and  venison.  Dinner  at  three,  and  they  all  spent  the 
evening.  Mr.  Williams  has  just  bought  two  nice  deer  ; 
very  cheap.  They  are  splendid  eating.  The  Mongols 
bring  them  in  to  sell  in  the  winter  season.  We  can  also 
get  pheasants  now  and  then. 

*'We  have  begun  to  use  our  coal-oil  and  new  lamps. 
It  is  delightful  to  have  a  good  light  with  so  little  trouble. 
The  sesame  seed  and  linseed  oils  which  we  have  been 
using,  as  the  Chinese  do,  are  so  glutinous  and  dirty. 

"  We  have  just  ordered  forty  pounds  of  Buriat  butter 
through  our  Eussian  friend,  Mr.  Gazanoff.  It  is  made 
without  salt.     The  Buriats  are  Mongols  who  have  settled 


126  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

down  under  the  Russian  government,  and  become  con- 
verts to  the  Greek  Church.  The  butter  is  nice  for  short- 
ening, and  only  costs  us  nine  cents  per  English  pound." 

"  Kalgan,  Feb.  i,  1869. 
"My  Dear  Sister  Martha  : 

*'I  was  indeed  glad  to  have  the  letter  about  the 
little  lad.  I  know  he  grows  to  be  more  of  a  treasure  and 
blessing  every  day.  I  wish  you  had  some  of  my  new 
books  to  read,  while  you  sit  with  him  in  your  arms. 
Have  you  the  '  Daily  Light '  ?  I  usually  have  mine  at  hand 
while  holding  baby,  and  enjoy  the  reading  of  it.  Then 
I  have  the  Gospel  of  John,  in  large  print,  which  is  very 
convenient.  It  was  given  me  by  Mr.  Thompson.  Since 
studying  Chinese  my  eyes  have  sensibly  changed  in  their 
habit,  and  are  unwilling  to  read  anything  but  large  print, 
if  it  can  be  had.  When  I  was  a  child,  I  liked  diamond 
type ;  now  I  never  look  at  it,  except  when  absolutely 
necessary. 

".  .  .  I  have  a  sewing  woman  from  Yu  Cho  in 
training  nowadays.  I  have  tried  several  women  before, 
but  it  was  more  trouble  than  it  was  worth  to  teach  them, 
and  then  they  were  not  taught !  For  what  we  call  a  day^s 
work  we  pay  eighty  to  one  hundred  cash.  (One  hundred 
copper  cash  are  sometimes  equal  to  ten,  and  sometimes  to 
eleven  cents,  according  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  silver.)  My 
chief  reason  for  employing  Mrs.  Tsai  is  not,  however,  that 
she  may  sew  for  me,  but  that  she  may  teach  me  the  Yu 
Cho  dialect,  as  we  hope  to  go  down  there  a  month  from 
now. 

"  Our  Chinese  girls  are  learning  to  cook  for  themselves. 
I  see  that  the  vegetables  which  they  need  are  bought 
for  them  about  once  a  week,  and  Hsin  Ching  comes  in 
twice  a  day  for  their  allowance  of  rice,  millet  or  oatmeal. 
My  great  problem  these  days  is  to  keep  the  four  girls 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  127 

from  quarrelling.  If  it  were  not  for  that,  I  really  would 
have  some  leisure  for  study.  As  it  is,  I  have  two  or  three 
of  them  with  me  all  the  time,  and  so  keep  a  peaceable 
family.  After  I  send  them  to  bed,  they  take  a  bout  at 
it  frequently.  I  have  to  whip  the  two  Mongols  very  often 
and  very  severely  for  lying,  stealing,  and  disobedience. 
Yet  there  is  much  good  in  them,  I  believe.  Hsin  Wu 
loves  the  baby  very  much.  The  happiest  times  in  the 
day  to  her  are  when  she  has  a  teacup  of  rice  and  milk, 
and  is  feeding  Henrietta.  Hsin  Ching,  too,  has  a  kind 
heart,  if  you  know  how  to  find  it.  She  is  the  most  med- 
dlesome child  I  ever  saw,  but  she  has  a  pleasant  face  and 
voice,  and  her  animal  spirits  no  slights  or  punishments 
can  damp.  The  work  which  I  have  before  me  for  these 
two  is  no  little  thing." 

(Written  on  the  same  day  to  her  father.) 
" .  .  .  I  read  your  letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick, 
and  they  were  greatly  interested  in  the  progress  among 
the  Dakotas.  They  think  of  going  into  Mongol  work, 
and  as  the  Mongols  seem  to  be  somewhat  like  the  Indians 
in  their  scattered  mode  of  living,  the  missionary  work 
among  them  may  partake  somewhat  of  the  same  charac- 
teristics. 

*^  A  point  which  is  of  special  interest  with  us  now  is 
the  plan  for  entering  the  province  of  Shansi,  and  taking 
it  as  an  especial  field  for  our  mission.  Perhaps  some  one 
may  come  out  who  would  be  willing  to  come  to  Kalgan, 
but  not  to  go  to  the  regions  beyond.  In  that  case,  it  may 
be  our  place  to  go.  Most  of  the  province  of  Shansi  is  a 
very  fine  country,  so  we  are  told.  ^ 

*  Though  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  never  left  Kalgan  for  work  in 
Shansi,  yet  more  than  thirty  years  later,  in  1903,  their  daughter  Mary, 
with  her  husband.  Dr.  W.  A.  Hemingway,  helped  to  reopen  the 
jghansi  Mission,  after  the  tragedy  of  1900, 


128  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^  I  left  my  writing  to  look  after  the  bread  and  tlie 
baby.  Then  after  cutting  a  leg  of  mutton  for  the  girls^ 
weekly  allowance,  and  ordering  for  them  a  catty  of  bean 
sprouts,  four  pieces  of  bean  paste,  five  cash  worth  of 
onions,  and  the  same  of  chiang  (a  kind  of  sauce),  I  am 
ready  to  write  again. 

^'  We  have  had  an  old  lady  pensioner  for  some  time. 
She  has  been  treated  very  cruelly  by  her  grandnephew's 
wife,  with  whom  she  is  staying,  so  we  have  helped  her  to 
go  back  to  relatives  in  Peking.  When  I  spoke  to  her 
about  the  Saviour,  she  said,  '  Don't  be  afraid.  T  shall 
never  forget  those  two  names.  Heavenly  Father,  and 
Jesus.'     I  hope  she  never  will. 

"Not  long  ago  we  had  a  visit  of  a  very  interesting 
character  from  four  men,  living  fifty  miles  distant. 
They  came  for  books,  saying  that  some  generations  back, 
the  head  of  the  family  had  renounced  his  idols,  declaring 
they  were  false,  and  urging  his  children  to  seek  the  truth. 

"Yesterday  I  took  the  girls  out  for  a  cart  ride.  We 
went  down  to  the  Lower  City,  past  the  soldiers'  encamp- 
ment, to  our  new  chapel ;  then  into  the  business  part  of 
the  city,  to  see  the  gay  New  Year's  pictures  on  every 
shop  window." 

''Kalgan,  Feb.  4,  1869. 
"Dear  Mamma  : 

"We  were  made  very  happy  by  receiving  home 
letters  to-day.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  completion  of 
your  rag  carpet,  but  wish  I  could  have  sent  you  a  Chinese 
woman  to  sew  the  rags  for  you,  at  eleven  cents  a  day.  It 
would  have  saved  you  many  a  backache. 

".  .  .  It  has  been  in  my  heart,  and  every  year  I 
have  felt  more  strongly,  that,  to  sum  it  up, — the  whole  of 
life  is  not  simply  to  be  thought  well  of  by  others,  to  make 
a  comfortable  living,  to  be  surrounded  by  pleasures  ; — it 
is  to  do  God's  will,  to  do  the  work  He  gives  us," 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  129 

In  March,  1869,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  made  a  tour 
to  Yu  Cho,  leaving  Baby  Etta  in  Mrs.  Gulick's  charge. 
The  trip  was  a  hard  one,  made  on  donkey  back,  through 
the  dust  and  cold.  Coming  to  swollen  rivers,  they  were 
carried  over  on  men's  backs.  It  was  pioneer  work,  not 
without  its  dangers.  Once,  passing  through  a  crowd 
gathered  before  a  theatre,  the  stones  began  to  fly,  and  the 
mob  followed  them,  until  an  old  man  intervened  in  their 
behalf. 

In  Mr.  Williams'  diary  of  June  is  written,  "When  I 
came  home  from  chapel  to-day,  baby  came  out  of  the 
bedroom  saying,  ^  Mamma  Wu,^  Letters  had  come  telling 
of  her  mother's  death." 

A  month  later  he  wrote  :  — 

'*  Isabella  has  typhus  fever.  We  think  she  must  have 
taken  it  from  a  woman  who  came  in  to  sew.  There  have 
been  many  calls  from  the  sick,  and  she  has  been  going  to 
the  Lower  City  almost  daily,  riding  in  the  sun.  This  last 
month  has  been  a  hard  one,  since  the  news  of  her  mother's 
death." 

In  a  letter  of  July  twenty -seventh  he  wrote :  — 

"  Dear  Father  Eiggs  : 

"  Isabella  is  recovering.  For  days  I  thought  she 
could  not  live.  I  watched  with  her  night  and  day,  for 
there  was  no  one  else.  Baby  was  with  the  Chinese.  The 
Gulicks  were  sent  for  from  Yu  Cho,  and  with  their  help 
she  passed  the  crisis.  The  fever  has  left  her,  and  she  only 
needs  time  to  get  strong.  As  soon  as  she  is  able,  I  hope 
to  take  her  away  from  the  noisy  scholars  and  the  heat  of 
the  city,  out  to  the  Mongol  Plains." 

On  the  twenty -third  of  February,  1870,  Isabella  wrote 
to  her  sister  Anna  : — 

*^  Looking  over  my  boxes,  I  find  some  things  still  with 


130  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

the  labels  Mark  pinned  on  them,  last  summer,  when  I  di- 
vided out  my  little  treasures. 

"  Perhaps  you  may  care  to  read  some  fragments  which 
I  wrote  on  my  birthday,  day  before  yesterday. 

5jC  *T^  ^  ^  *1^  *f* 

"  In  severe  illness,  return  to  health  depends  on  many 
circumstances,  any  one  of  which  being  altered,  the  result 
is  also  changed. 

^^  When  I  was  sick  last  summer,  had  I  not  passed  out 
of  the  severe  mental  conflict  between  the  desire  for  life, 
and  the  belief  that  death  was  certain,  life  could  not  have 
been  long  continued.  And  if  this  belief  had  not  been  re- 
placed by  the  strong  contrary  conviction,  and  above  all, 
by  the  close  presence  of  Jesus,  which  in  itself  was  life, — 
recovery  would  have  been  impossible.  After  the  scale 
was  turned,  everything  was  life  to  me,  as  before  every- 
thing had  been  death. 

"Some  things  should  be  told  only  to  God.  K  yon 
speak  of  them  to  an  earthly  friend,  though  the  present 
relief  be  great,  a  sting  will  be  left  behind. 

^  H:  :{:  H:  4:  ^f: 

"  'Why  should  a  man  observe  the  day  of  his  birth  f 
If  he  could  know  the  day  of  death,  that  would  indeed  be 
worth  honoring  as  a  festival.' 

"  Can  a  Christian  speak  thus  ?  The  day  of  birth  gave 
him  entrance  to  a  life  which  will  at  last  be  exchanged  for 
an  existence  of  perfect  blessedness.  The  unbeliever  or 
heathen  may  curse  his  day,  but  not  the  Christian.  If 
one  does  not  rejoice  at  having  been  brought  into  the 
world,  he  cannot  be  joyful  at  going  out  of  it. 

*  *  *  *  :ic  * 

"  *  How  precious  also  are  Thy  thoughts  unto  me,  O  God ! 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  131 

how  great  is  the  sum  of  them  !  K I  should  count  them, 
they  are  more  in  number  than  the  sand.^ 

"The  insect  of  a  day,  so  curiously  and  wondrously 
wrought ;  the  lasting  mountain,  which  has  been  the 
birthplace  and  grave  of  myriads  upon  myriads  of  gener- 
ations of  these  tiny  creatures ; — all  things,  from  the  atom 
in  the  water-drop  to  the  grandest  system  of  worlds  in  the 
universe, — all  are  thoughts  of  God.  Every  human  being 
on  the  swarming  street  is  one  of  God's  thoughts.  Were 
the  universe  of  matter  destroyed,  it  would  be  of  less  con- 
cern in  His  sight  than  the  death  of  one  of  these  souls. 
Alas,  that  these  onc«  beautiful  living  thoughts  have  been 
so  tarnished  and  debased  by  sin  !  The  immortal  princi- 
ple might  have  soared  to  the  farthest  skies.  Behold,  how 
it  delights  to  grovel  in  the  very  dust ! 

"  Were  I  a  minister,  I  should  have  been  glad  to  write 
a  sermon  on  that  text.  I  wrote  this  after  coming  in  from  a 
ride  through  the  streets,  as  a  result  of  my  thoughts  on  the 
way,  but  it  did  not  please  me  entirely,  and  I  could  write 
no  more. 

"  The  Ta  Niang  is  combing  baby's  flaxen  hair,  and  the 
little  maid  is  laughing,  prattling  and  singing  merrily  the 
while.  The  aforesaid  ^  Elder  Mother '  (our  servant's 
wife)  had  a  holiday  week  at  the  Chinese  New  Year, 
during  which  I  took  care  of  baby's  little  Hen  tzus  (braids), 
myself.  I  keep  the  Ta  Niang  busy  with  sewing.  Yester- 
day she  made  a  pair  of  trousers  which  are  for  a  poor, 
blind  cripple,  and  helped  one  of  the  girls  make  herself  a 
pair  of  shoes. 

"  We  have  enjoyed  the  music-box  which  was  given  us 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodrich.  Perhaps  you  may  care  to 
read  the  note  I  wrote  to  them. 

'^  ^  The  music-box  continues  to  be  a  delightful  compan- 
jou.     I  feel  quite  well  acquainted  with  it  now,  and  i% 


132  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

never  scoffs  at  my  moods,  but  seems  to  sympathize  with 
them  instead.  It  seems  to  have  a  great  variety  of  moods 
and  feelings  itself,  so  that  is  not  strange.  Sometimes 
it  bids  one  dance,  but  as  I  do  not  know  how,  I  go  about 
dusting  my  rooms  to  the  rhythm  of  the  music.  A  poor 
substitute,  some  would  say,  but  it  answers  my  purpose 
well.  As  I  listen  to  the  songs,  like  drops  of  water  which 
have  but  found  their  voice,  day  after  day  the  same  ideas 
have  been  suggested,  and  I  have  written  them  down. 

^*  ^  It  has  a  voice  of  childhood,  eager  and  yearniug.  It 
speaks,  too,  of  the  dreams  of  youth, — bright  youth  which 
laughs  to  scorn  impossibilities.  It  tells  of  the  weary 
doubts  and  dumb  griefs  of  later  years,  but  also  of  their 
comforting  hopes  and  inexpressible  joys.  It  brings  to 
remembrance  the  cross-workings  of  life,  and  then  silences 
distrust  with  the  thought  *'In  Jesus  Christ,  all  contradic- 
tions are  reconciled.  ^^  It  lifts  the  soul  above  strife  and 
discontent  to  a  calm  mountain  top  from  which,  on  fair 
days,  there  is  a  clear  sight  of  Mt.  Zion.  With  exultation 
she  sees  the  end  of  pilgrimage,  and  knows  that  last  hour 
to  be  supreme  in  its  triumph,  perfect  in  its  joy. ^  ^^ 


^^  February  25 y  1870. 

"  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Thompson  called  on  the  Eus- 
sian  postmaster  at  the  Eussian  New  Year.  They  were 
entertained  royally.  One  of  the  dishes  was  a  hash  made 
of  meat  and  sugar  ! 

"  Baby  is  very  fond  of  the  parched  beans  which  we  buy 
for  her.  Mr.  Williams  always  helps  me  undress  her  at 
night,  and  then  holds  her  by  the  stove.  She  hugs  the 
stovepipe,  and  says,  *Lo  (love)  To-pi-tza.^  See  what  a 
little  Chinese  she  is  !  She  has  heard  the  children  on  the 
street  call  out,  ^  The  little  Mohammedan  !  See  her  blue 
eyes  !  ^  until  she  insists  that  her  eyes  are  black.     She  is 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  133 

very  positive  on  that  point !  She  shows  her  papa  and 
the  teacher  her  pretty  yellow  braids  every  morning,  and 
courtesies  to  the  teacher,  for  which  she  expects  his  keys 
as  pay.  When  our  servant  went  away  this  morning,  she 
wished  him  I  lu  ping  an  ('Peace  on  the  road  ^)  very 
nicely.  She  is  a  busy  little  body,  ironing,  washing,  cut- 
ting paper,  or  pretending  to  read,  all  the  time. 

*'  Your  letters  brighten  me  up,  and  make  me  feel  fresher 
and  younger.     I  need  to  feel  so. 
•  "  With  love  always,  Your 

^'Isabella.'' 

**  Kalgany  March  11,  1870. 
"  Dear  Friends  at  Home  : 

"  We  are  busy  these  days,  preparing  to  go  to  mis- 
sion meeting.  I  have  not  been  well  this  year.  The  fever 
last  summer,  and  the  loss  of  the  babe,  broke  my  health. 
I  have  been  very  much  downcast,  but  now  feel  as  if  I 
have  some  reason  to  hope  that  by  being  careful  of  myself 
for  a  year  or  so,  good  health  may  be  established  once 
more.  Caution  about  working,  writing  or  studying  will 
be  essential,  and  that  is  very  distasteful  to  me.  Just  now 
I  do  almost  nothing,  and  it  is  hard.  But  I  have  a  great 
many  things  to  be  thankful  for.  Baby  is  well  and  so  is 
Mr.  Williams.     This  is  a  great  comfort." 

"  March  19,  1870. 

**  Mrs.  Gulick's  Ma  Ta  has  lung  fever,  and  we  have  al- 
most given  up  the  idea  of  going  to  mission  meeting.  Mr. 
Williams  with  Mr.  Thompson  left  yesterday  for  a  tour  to 
Yu  Cho  and  vicinity.  Baby  misses  him  sadly.  She  cried 
for  him  the  first  thing  on  waking  this  morning. 

^'  Did  I  ever  send  Alfred  the  music  of  some  street  cries 
which  I  had  written  out  ? 

"  I  have  just  finished  reading  '  Ecce  Homo,'  and  it  has 
done  me  good, — stirred  up  thought." 


134  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

''Marches,  1870. 
"  I  remember  this  is  papa's  birthday.  Yesterday  was 
a  solemn  anniversary.  I  could  rejoice  as  well  as  weep, 
for  the  remembrance  of  our  mother's  death  filled  my 
thoughts  through  the  day.  We  can  thank  God  now  that 
her  battle  was  fought,  her  victory  won,  a  year  ago.  As 
for  the  rest  of  us,  the  time  is  not  yet  come. 

"  *  What  if  the  bread 
Be  bitter  in  thine  inn,  and  thou  nnshod 
To  meet  the  flints  ? — At  least  it  may  be  said 
"  Because  the  way  is  short,  I  thank  Thee,  God  !  " ' 

"Sometimes  the  bread  is  no  longer  bitter,  but  sweet. 
Sometimes  the  bare  and  bleeding  feet  walk  no  longer  on 
the  flinty  road.  ^He  leadeth  me  in  green  pastures.' 
'  He  healeth  the  broken  in  heart,  and  bindeth  up  their 
wounds.' " 

^' March  24,  1870, 

"  I  am  sorry  Mark  did  not  have  time  to  write  you  be- 
fore he  left  for  Yu  Cho,  for  since  I  happen  to  have  a  list 
of  the  things  he  has  been  writing  about  lately,  I'm  sure 
he  might  have  given  you  a  very  interesting  letter.  You 
may  judge  from  the  list. 

"  'One  day  in  my  Chapel. 

A  Walk  through  the  Great  Street. 

A  Visit  to  the  Soda  Factories. 

Among  the  Theatre  Goers. 

From  the  Summit  of  the  Great  Wall. 

On  the  Mongol  Plains. 

A  Glance  at  the  Gardens. 

The  Soldiers'  Encampment. 

A  Trip  to  Yu  Cho. 

A  Call  on  the  Russians. 

Chinese  Customs  illustrating  Scripture/ 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  135 

There^s  material  enough  for  as  many  separate  sketches, 
a  year's  work  in  that  line.  I'd  try  my  hand  at  one 
of  them,  only  when  would  I  ever  learn  to  read  Chi- 
nese, if  I  allowed  myself  to  run  off  on  side  tracks! 
My  letters  take  as  much  time  as  I  have  to  spare  from 
daily  work  and  study.  I  have  been  reading  over  some 
of  my  favorites  among  Mrs.  Browning's  poems,  and  send 
you  a  pencilled  fragment  I  wrote  about  them  some  weeks 
ago. 

"  In  the  study  of  style,  Mrs.  Browning  has  been  one 
of  my  best  teachers,  and  this  not  only  on  account  of  her 
excellencies,  but  of  her  faults.  In  reading  her  poems, 
one  is  obliged  to  exercise  the  judgment,  almost  whether 
he  will  or  no.  Her  rhythm  is  at  times  imperfect ;  at 
times  her  words  lack  the  charm  of  simplicity, — at  times 
that  of  directness.  This  is  the  more  marked,  because  the 
opposite  is  so  signally  true  at  other  times. 

^'  Turning  from  the  outside  garment  to  the  soul  within, 
her  poems  open  before  us  whatever  is  passionate,  mourn- 
ful, tender.  Her  tenderness  is  such  as  we  sometimes 
have  dreams  of, — have  glimpses  of  in  our  daily  life.  One 
could  not  often  bear  such  a  joy. 

^*  You  will  think  that  my  mind  is  very  defective  in  that 
it  finishes  nothing.  I  fear  so.  But  as  I  did  not  come  to 
China  to  write,  I  must  be  satisfied  with  such  gleams  of 
ideas  as  come  in  intervals  of  leisure. 

^'Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  are  coming  to  take  dinner  with 
me  to-day,  and  I  am  to  be  my  own  cook.  So  I  must  say 
good-bye,  and  go  off  to  my  domain.'^ 

In  1870  she  wrote  to  her  sister  Cornelia  :— 

"  You  would  like  your  little  niece  Henrietta  very  much 
were  you  to  see  her,  only  you  would  have  to  teach  her 


136  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

English  before  she  could  talk  with  you.  Hsin  Ching 
says  when  I  tell  her  I  am  writing  to  my  little  sister, — 
*  Wen  t'a  hao,'  which  means  about  the  same  as  ^  Ask  after 
her  health.'  She  knows  all  about  you  and  Eobbie,  and 
has  seen  your  pictures,  and  your  drawings  of  Eed  Eiding 
Hood's  wolf,  and  of  the  Pied  Piper  taking  the  children 
after  him  into  the  hillside.     .     .     . 

"  I  wish  I  could  put  my  donkey,  long  ears  and  all,  into 
this  letter,  and  send  her  to  you  for  a  birthday  present. 
You  would  have  fine  times  riding  her. 

**  You  wrote  me  a  long  letter,  for  which  I  thank  you 
very  much,  as  it  helps  me  realize  how  much  my  little 
sister  has  grown  and  changed  since  I  last  saw  her.  Do 
you  love  Jesus  ?  Do  you  love  Him  more  than  you  did 
last  year  ?  This  is  the  great  thing  for  which  all  of  us 
live,  or  ought  to  live.  You  will  not  choose  never  to  see 
our  dear  mamma  again,  will  you?  She  is  with  Jesus, 
and  she  loves  you  more  than  she  ever  did  while  here.  It 
will  be  so  happy  for  us  when  we  all  go  together  to  thank 
the  dear  Saviour  for  all  His  love." 

^^FeMnffj  May  9,  1870. 
"  Dear  Friends  at  Home  : 

"  Our  mission  meeting  is  over,  and  the  friends  are 
leaving.  We  are  staying  over  for  a  wedding  !  Our  eldest 
girl  is  to  be  married  to  a  young  Peking  lad,  '  Everlasting 
Happiness.'  I  think  they  are  well  fitted  for  each  other, 
on  the  whole,  and  hope  that  they  will  be  happy  and 
useful.  They  will  go  up  to  Kalgan  with  us  to  spend 
three  months,  after  which  they  will  return  to  Peking." 

''May  17,  1870. 
''  My  '  daughter '  is  married,  and  is  sitting  in  state  on 
the  Icang.     I  went  in  and  kissed  her  after  the  ceremony 
was  over,  and  she  had  gone  from  the  chapel  to  her  room, 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  137 

but  I  did  not  speak,  as  she  could  make  me  no  answer, 
a<?cording  to  the  Chinese  custom.  Mr.  Williams  per- 
formed the  ceremony,  and  the  two  bore  themselves  very- 
well.  Afterwards  we  sang  a  hymn  which  Mr.  Goodrich 
had  composed  for  the  occasion. 

"  I  am  packing  a  little  box  to  send  home.  It  will  not 
be  a  very  expensive  one,  but  you  will  know  that  I  love 
you  just  as  much  as  if  I  sent  you  the  finest  things  to  be 
found  in  all  China.  I  cannot  feel  that  our  money  is  ours 
to  spend  always  as  we  would  like  to  spend  it,  or  as  it  is 
right  for  some  others  to  spend  money. 

'^  I  have  on  my  black  alpaca  in  honor  of  the  wedding. 
I  ought  perhaps  to  wear  it  every  day,  but  I  find  my  calico 
wrappers,  which  are  neat  and  pretty,  so  much  more  serv- 
iceable when  I  am  taking  care  of  ^  Wu-ba-du-ba  ^  (our 
little  Henrietta). 

"  This  visit  here  has  done  us  a  great  deal  of  good.  So 
silent  and  uneventful  a  life  as  ours  at  Kalgan  needs 
an  occasional  stirring  up,  and  this  pilgrimage  to  Peking 
really  keeps  us  from  wearing  out,  or  settling  down  in  ruts 
too  much.'^ 

'^  May  28d, 
' '  Good-bye !    Off  for  Kalgan.     All  well. 

"ISABELLA.^^ 

^^  Kalgan,  June  18,  1870, 
*^My  Dear  Anna: 

"I  have  been  busy  as  a  bee,  to-day,  starching 
shirts  and  dresses,  making  a  pudding  for  dinner,  to  use 
up  the  scraps  of  bread  crumbs  ;  putting  away  winter 
clothes  to  keep  them  from  the  moths  ;  training  Zen  in  the 
way  she  should  go,  and  finally  doing  quite  a  part  of  a 
large  ironing.  Some  days  I  seem  very  idle ;  at  other 
times  I  do  no  discredit  to  former  training.  I  have  not 
studied  much  since  we  came  from  Peking.     Putting  the 


138  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

house  to  rights,  and  keeping  my  family  in  order,  seem  to 
fill  up  the  time,  and  I  have  been  away  from  the  house 
but  once,  excepting  Sabbaths. 

"Miss  Diament  keeps  busy  at  her  Chinese.  Hsin 
Ching  teaches  the  two  girls,  and  her  husband,  '  Everlast- 
ing Happiness,'  is  partly  Mr.  Williams'  pupil,  and 
partly  his  teacher.  So  go  the  mornings.  I  keep  about 
the  house  till  it  seems  as  if  my  feet  would  ache  off.  After 
dinner  the  girls  sew,  the  two  students  are  at  their  books 
again,  and  I  try  to  keep  a  half  an  eye  on  the  baby,  and 
the  other  half  is  usually  devoted  to  medical  reading. 
You  have  no  idea  how  wise  I'm  getting  !  But  the  fact  is 
that  somebody  must  know  something,  or  every  once  in  a 
while  folks  come  to  a  strait  place,  and  don't  know  where 
to  turn. 

"  Our  chapels  have  been  fitted  up  under  Mr.  Will- 
iams' and  Mr.  Thompson's  supervision,  and  two  or  more 
of  the  helpers  go  down  every  day. 

"  My  roses  are  all  out  in  bloom,  but  they  don't  look  so 
lovely  as  last  August,  when,  every  morning,  Mr.  Will- 
iams picked  the  freshest  to  lay  on  my  pillow.  How  much 
good  they  did  me  !  How  lovely  their  color,  how  delicious 
their  scent!  How  I  loved  them  !  They  seemed  to  love  me." 

^^June22d. 

"  Your  letter  came  yesterday.  When  you  get  through 
with  your  catalogues  of  flower  and  garden  seeds,  just  send 
a  few  to  us,  please,  as  I  want  to  get  seeds  for  distribution. 

"My  second  ^daughter'  is  now  to  be  married.  I  feel 
quite  happy  about  her.  If  either  or  both  do  well,  we 
shall  be  fully  repaid  for  all  our  trouble.  I  shall  have  less 
care  now,  and  more  time  for  teaching  Etta.  She  is  sew- 
ing away,  while  I  write,  on  some  patchwork  for  a  dolly's 
quilt.     The  doll  has  yet  to  come  from  England." 

The  summer  of  1870  following  the  Tientsin  Massacre  of 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  139 

June  twenty -first  was  full  of  disturbing  rumors  and  war 
alarms.     Isabella  wrote  :  — 

"  Uncertainty  is  over  everything.  I  am  enclosing 
some  fragments  I  have  written  lately,  from  an  instinct  of 
preservation,  I  believe.  Were  it  possible,  I  would  send 
you  everything  I  value,  although,  according  to  my  judg- 
ment, we  are  not  yet  in  danger.  Some  of  my  treasures 
are  here  in  this  world,  but  how  easy  for  God  to  take  all 
of  them,  so  that  it  would  be  wholly  true,  *  Where  your 
treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.'  But  since  we 
know  we  have  treasure  in  heaven,  we  can  trust  God  with 
the  rest,— with  our  earthly  treasures,  and  with  our  lives. 

**  Good-bye.     God  bless  you  all." 

On  the  twenty-second  of  August,  a  son  was  bom, 
Stephen  Eiggs  Williams,  named  for  his  grandfather.  On 
September  sixth,  Isabella  wrote  to  her  sister  Anna  :  — 

"The  baby  is  asleep.  I  am  in  durance  vile  by  his 
side,  and  am  supposed  to  be  asleep,  too.  As  you  see,  I 
am  not. 

"I'm  very  much  delighted  with  my  ugly  little  boy,  and 
wouldn't  have  him  prettier  for  anything.  We  hope  he'll 
be  a  real  Eiggs,  but  he  isn't  good-looking  enough  for  that 
yet !    Never  fear,  he  will  be,  by  and  by." 

^^  September  7th. 
"I'm  better  to-day  than  yesterday,  and  hope  not  to 
be  useless  long.  Miss  Diament  is  reading  Bushnell's 
*  Moral  Uses  of  Dark  Things '  to  me.  He  makes  very 
convincing  points, — so  much  so  that  while  one  reads  the 
essays  on  *  Physical  Danger'  and  ^Physical  Pain,'  one  is 
thoroughly  satisfied  that  it  is  a  very  tame  thing  to  be  in 
a  state  of  security,  and  as  for  health,  it  is  really  undesir- 
able !  This  only  lasts  while  reading  the  essays.  After- 
wards, one  is  as  much  of  a  coward  as  ever  !  I  used  to 
suppose  myself  tolerably  brave,  but  either  I  am  losing 


140  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

my  power  of  endurance,  or  each  year  brings  an  experi- 
ence of  pain  which  is  more  severe  than  any  preceding  one.'' 

^^  September  8th. 
"I    have  just  been  reading  your  last  letter  before 
mamma's  sickness, — one  of  Thomas's,  written  a  short 
time  after,  and  one  of  papa's.     They  bring  tears,  but 
blessed  ones.     Flowers  die  without  rain." 

^^  September  12th. 

*^  I  am  up  all  day  now,  except  a  little  while  at  both 
ends.  Sabbath  I  was  up  to  breakfast,  but  was  quite  tired 
out  by  dark. 

^'  We  have  a  new  Russian  postmaster,  a  Buriat.  He 
speaks  Chinese  and  Mongol  fluently,  so  that  we  get  the 
European  news  now.  Mr.  Gasanoff  and  his  family  have 
returned  to  Urga.  They  gave  us  their  samovar,  and  pre- 
sented the  little  baby  with  a  five  ruble  gold  piece.  I 
think  this  will  be  used  to  print  tracts. 

"  We  have  a  women's  prayer-meeting  on  Saturday  af- 
ternoons. I  must  stop  writing,  and  make  preparation  for 
it.  When  Hsin  Ching  prays  and  talks  I  feel  how  much 
I  lack  of  the  knowledge  of  Chinese  which  I  wish.  Still 
I  know  enough  to  point  others  to  a  Saviour  if  their  hearts 
are  prepared  to  receive  Him.  These  troublous  times 
seem  to  make  people  less  ready  to  listen  than  formerly." 

*^  September  22,  1870. 

"The  poor  crippled  woman  I've  told  you  about  died 
the  day  my  baby  was  born.  I  wish  we  knew  she  was  a 
Christian. 

"  Stephen  is  a  good  baby.  He  has  gained  two  pounds 
since  he  came  to  us.  He  is  a  month  old  to-day.  Baby 
Etta  is  washing.  A  wicker  basket  is  the  tub,  a  dust-pan 
the  wash-board,  and  one  of  her  alphabet  blocks  the  soap. 
Her  dolly's  face  is  being  rubbed  well. 


CQ 

^S 

O 

JS 

o 

-M  :3 

■t-'  £. 

O 

'^1 

<j— < 

1! 

CO 

rtQ 

Q 

■^s 

W 

o 

K 

|j3 

C/3 

^5 

in 
O 

-1 

C^ 

"^i- 

u 

^>.c 

< 

S^. 

cu= 

72 

^&. 

»^ 

^S.' 

w 

•g  zt 

X 

^SF 

o 

|i- 

w 

g|^ 

K 

^^ 

H 

"^    =/5, 

S^' 

^ 

si^' 

O 

p^ 

50. 

O 

e"®' 

,_^ 

ni  S. 

Oh 
< 

"J  Si 

C>0 

'o-^ 

W 

°!^- 

BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  141 

^'  We  are  anxious  for  letters  from  you.  What  can  be 
keeping  the  mail  ? ' ' 

*"'  Evening. 
"  No  letters  yet !    Mr.  Williams  came  in  with  the 
rumor  of  a  massacre  in  Peking.     How  the  blood  all  went 
to  my  heart !    It  was  some  time  before  I  got  over  the 
shock.     God  knows  if  it  be  true. 
*^  My  love  to  every  one  of  you. 

'^  Your  sister, 

*  Isabella.*' 

"  October  2,  1870, 
"  My  Dear  Father  : 

'^  Mr.  Gulick  has  rented  a  tiny  house  in  a  Mongol 
village,  hoping  that,  in  case  of  trouble,  we  might  find  it  a 
safe  retreat.  I  know  you  will  be  anxious  about  us,  but 
remember  that  Kalgan  is  one  of  the  safest  places  in  all 
North  China,  and  that  our  relations  with  the  people  have 
been  all  peaceable  and  pleasant.  Eemember,  above  all, 
that  God  rules.  If  we  can  do  more  for  China  by  death 
than  by  life,  God  will  so  use  us.  If  not,  we  shall  be 
carried  safely  through  every  peril.     .     .     .*' 

^'  October  12,  1870. 
"  Dear  Anna  : 

"  Pm  trying  to  be  a  good  mother  to  my  boy,  and 
that  fills  up  much  of  my  time.  Pm  growing  strong, 
though,  and  am  more  like  what  I  used  to  be.  You'd  be 
glad  to  see  how  strong  I  am  now. 

"  I  send  you  another  fragment,  being  a  fragmentary 
creature,  as  you  know.  It's  not  thoroughly  worked  out, 
but  I  send  it,  as  I  want  you  to  have  all  you  can  of  me.'* 

"  Perhaps  you  question  why  I  am  especially  anxious  to 
be  a  good  mother  to  my  little  boy,  if,  at  the  same  time, 


142  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

life  appears  so  uncertain.  I'll  try  to  tell  you  something 
about  it. 

"  Other  things  being  equal,  perhaps  we  may  be  hap- 
pier in  heaven,  if  our  earthly  bodies  are  healthy,  happy 
ones.  At  least  it  may  be  so  where  health  depends  upon 
the  care  we  take  of  our  bodies  when  fully  aware  what  is 
right  and  wrong  in  regard  to  them.  Misuse  or  neglect  is 
sin  (unless  the  result  of  unavoidable  ignorance,  or  unless 
higher  interests  are  involved),  and  puts  us  lower  in  the 
scale  of  happiness  than  we  should  otherwise  have  been. 
You  will  say  that  much  of  life's  best  discipline  comes 
through  sickness.  So  it  does,  and  it  may,  even  when 
brought  on  by  wilful  neglect  or  abuse.  This  does  not 
prove  it  good  in  itself.  God's  '  divine  alchemy'  turns 
dross  to  gold,  evil  to  good. 

"  As  for  a  little  child,  it  may  be  the  soul  will  grow 
faster  if  the  body  is  not  puny  and  stunted.  If  I  were  to 
take  my  boy  back  to  heaven  soon,  I'd  like  to  show  the 
angels  how  he'd  grown  since  he  came  down  to  us.  One 
would  like  best  to  have  the  lad  grow  up,  and  serve  God 
here  first,  but  we  should  pray  to  be  kept  from  setting  our 
hearts  on  any  plans  for  ourselves  or  our  children." 


*^  We  are  not  told  that  Jesus  ever  smiled.  Could  He, 
with  the  weight  of  a  world's  woe  pressing  Him  down! 
*  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sor- 
rows.' Although  He  may  never  have  smiled  on  earth,  we 
shall  see  His  smile  in  heaven. 

*^Even  though  this  supposition  be  true,  nothing  is 
proved  by  it  against  joy.  If  we  were  shown  the  misery 
of  the  earth  as  He  saw  it,  life  would  go  out  in  one  despair- 
ing cry.  God  would  not  take  away  the  lives  He  has 
given,  until  the  appointed  time,  and  so  He  does  not  show 
us.    For  the  rounding  to  completion  of  e^xjh  life  which  is 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  143 

in  a  measure  such  as  He  would  have  it,  joy  and  mirth  are 
needful.  We  exult  in  the  sunshine,  and  rest  in  the  peace 
of  moonlight.  We  pray  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  stars. 
All  bring  us  joy.     God  sees  it,  and  is  glad.^^ 

*  *  ♦  *  4c  « 

"  There  are  thoughts  like  the  lightning  flash,  with 
sword-thrust  of  exultant  agony.  There  are  also  thoughts 
like  that  flash  when  it  sears  and  blackens. 

"Some  there  are,  thank  God,  like  soft,  winged,  nest- 
ling birds,  warming  and  thrilling  the  heart  where  they 
rest." 

"One  need  not  deny  the  existence  of  Paradise  because 
his  abode  is  out  in  the  desert.  He  should  so  till  his 
sandy  garden  that  it  may,  in  the  last  days,  bloom  in 
lowly  beauty.  *The  wilderness  shall  blossom  as  the 
rose.^  " 

"  ^It  was  my  desire  to  know  the  whole  of  life, — the 
bitter  as  well  as  the  sweet, — the  agony  as  well  as  the  joy.' 
For  myself,  I  never  had  any  distinct  realization  of  this, 
but  I  should  grieve  for  my  son  were  he  to  miss  hearing 
any  chord  which  may  be  struck  on  the  harp  of  life. 

"  *  But  the  minor  chords  wring  out  tears  ! ' 

"  *  Yea,  I  know  it.  Yet  better  is  the  moaning  forest 
when  the  wind  breaks  down  its  branches,  than  the  tearless, 
songless  desert.' 

"To-day  I  ask  for  him  nothing  of  this.  Oh,  tender 
Father,  deal  with  him  as  seemeth  good  in  Thy  sight ! " 

'^  November  21,  1870, 
"  Stephen  boy  is  three  months  old  to-morrow.     Such  a 
splendid,  fat  baby.     The  pride  of  my  heart,  and  the  de- 
light of  my  eyes,  and  everything  else  you  can  think  of  | 


144  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Mr.  Williams  tells  Etta  Bible  stories  in  Chinese  these 
days,  and  she  repeats  them  to  me.  Just  now  she  is  play- 
ing with  one  of  her  dolls,  on  the  floor.  Four  of  her  five 
dolls  have  had  their  heads  broken  off,  and  the  other  has 
a  dreadful  hole  in  her  cranium.  Decapitation  is  a  slight 
accident,  and  is  remedied  by  making  hoods  for  the 
martyred  creatures.  The  other  ailment  is  cured  by  strips 
of  paper  and  gum  arabic. 

*'  It^s  a  great  comfort  to  have  Miss  Diament  here  ;  she 
is  always  kind,  and  one  of  the  most  reliable,  self- con- 
trolled persons  I  ever  knew.  Her  mastery  over  her 
tongue  is  a  constant  lesson  to  a  body  like  me,  always 
blundering,  always  in  fault. 

**Mr.  Gulick  came  over  a  few  days  ago,  and  we  had  a 
talk  such  as  does  me  good  for  days  or  weeks.  Sometimes 
we  talk  about  books,  but  not  this  time.  One  of  the  sub- 
jects most  spoken  of  was  the  probable  shortness  of  our 
time  here,  and  the  duty  of  trying  to  work  while  our  little 
day  in  Kalgan  should  last.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  have 
to  go,  and  who  knows  whether  any  of  us  would  ever  come 
back  to  China  or  to  Kalgan  again  ?  We  trust  all  will  be 
peaceful.  I  do  try  to  leave  all  this  with  the  Lord.  No 
hour  could  be  so  dark  but  His  love  would  make  it  very 
light.  I  pray  for  each  one  of  you  these  days.  It  is  all 
I  can  do,  except  to  love  you.     That  I  do,  be  sure  ! 

*' Letters  this  evening  from  Yu  Cho.  Dr.  Treat  and 
Mr.  Goodrich  write  more  hopefully.  The  uncertainty  of 
things  is  a  constant  strain.  According  to  the  Chinese 
proverb,  *  Only  the  shoe  knows  whether  the  stocking  has 
a  sole  or  not.'  '^ 

'^Kalgan,  Nov.  23,  1870. 
**My  Dear  Sister  Martha  : 

"My  little  Stephen  Eiggs  was  baptized  October 
thirtieth  at  our  Chinese  service.  Given  to  the  Lord  for 
his  lifetime,  and  for  eternity;  I  trust. 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  145 

"  We  liear  good  news,  that  there  are  nine  gunboats  at 
Tientsin,  and  two  thousand  Sepoys  are  coming.  This  is 
as  it  should  be, — I  felt  condemned  when  those  last  lines 
were  written,  feeling  that  they  showed  less  trust  in  God, 
and  more  in  man,  than  is  right.  ^  Some  trust  in  chariots, 
and  some  in  horses,  but  we  will  remember  the  name  of 
the  Lord  our  God.' 

''  I  had  a  lovely  letter  from  Mary  Porter  to-day.  She 
has  a  talent  for  friendship, — (if  it  is  right  to  speak  of  so 
precious  a  gift  in  so  light  a  way)  I  did  not  mean  it  so. 
She  is  a  friend  to  every  one,  and  all  love  her,  but  I  think 
the  affection  between  us  is  of  an  especial  kind.'' 

Miss  Porter's  friendship  meant  much  to  Mrs.  Williams, 
at  this  time  and  always.  Years  afterwards,  writing  to 
one  of  the  daughters.  Miss  Porter  recalled  the  days  they 
had  spent  together. 

"How  shall  I  convey  to  you  the  impressions  of  your 
dear  mother?  Her  personality  was  so  distinctive,  her 
nature  so  sweet  and  rare,  that  when  one  tries  to  put  the 
charm,  the  traits  which  set  her  apart  and  made  her 
friendship  such  an  inspiration,  they  elude  one  ;  they  are 
like  the  fragrance  of  a  flower, — indescribable. 

"  When  I,  scarcely  more  than  a  girl,  went  to  China  in 
1868,  I  looked  forward  with  eager  anticipation  to  the  first 
mission  meeting,  when  your  mother  would  come  to 
Peking,  and  I  should  make  her  acquaintance.  I  knew 
her  parents  and  her  brothers  and  sisters  in  Beloit,  and  she 
was  the  only  one  in  the  North  China  circle  with  whom  I 
thus  had  personal  ties. 

"  In  the  months  which  passed  before  that  time,  a  rumor 
reached  her  of  something  in  my  course  which  seemed 
to  her  injudicious,  something  which  she  feared  would 
weaken  my  influence.  She  wrote  me,  with  regard  to  it, 
a  frank,   sisterly  letter,  to  which  I  replied  as  frankly. 


146  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Her  beautiful  courage,  and  the  way  in  which  she  did 
so  delicate  and  difficult  a  thing,  completely  won  my 
heart,  and  my  answer  in  some  way  secured  me  entrance 
into  her  inner  circle,  so  that  from  thenceforth  we  were 
friends. 

"Although  we  met  only  occasionally,  and  but  once 
spent  a  few  months  together,  we  found  constant  strength 
in  our  mutual  affection,  and  I  had  many  glimpses,  through 
her  clearer  vision,  of  the  hidden  things  of  the  spirit,  some 
of  which  she  saw  with  rare  intuition,  and  in  moments  of 
intimate  confidence,  could  make  real  in  words  as  few  are 
able  to  do. 

"  I  had  no  conception  of  the  heroism  of  her  ordinary 
life,  or  what  acceptance  of  the  conditions  of  the  Kalgan 
field  cost  her,  until  I  made  the  journey  to  Yu  Cho  in  her 
company.  With  the  little  baby  in  her  arms,  ascents 
which  we  made  in  the  litters  were  a  terror  to  her,  and  the 
fording  of  streams  a  nervous  strain.  Yet  I  never  heard 
her  speak  of  either  the  heights  or  the  waters  except  in  a 
perfectly  matter-of-fact,  quiet  way.  This  gave  me  a  sug- 
gestion as  to  other  every-day  matters,  which  I  had  taken 
for  granted  as  meaning  little  to  her.  When  I  understood 
what  daily,  intimate  association  with  the  Chinese  cost  for 
herself,  and  yet  more,  the  permitting  it  to  her  children,  I 
marvelled  at  a  self-giving  so  absolute  that  it  would  not 
count  it  sacrifice,  and  would  scarcely  permit  the  sympathy 
of  a  friend.  The  poorest,  the  most  sorrowful  and  hope- 
less needed  her  most,  so  to  them  was  extended  kindliest 
welcome,  and  she  clung  to  them  through  repeated  disap- 
pointments, failures  and  rebuffs. 

"Only  once  when  together  did  we  exclude  Chinese 
work  and  care,  and  give  ourselves  to  the  enjoyment  of 
things  which  fed  our  minds  and  gratified  our  tastes.  I 
had  been  summoned  to  her  side  because  she  was  very  ill. 
I  found  her  weak  and  shadowy, — '  All  eyes,^  as  she  said 


BEGINNINGS  AT  KALGAN  147 

the  first  time  we  allowed  lier  a  looking-glass,  but  the 
crisis  was  passed,  and  she  was  able  to  enjoy  the  devotion 
of  a  nurse  who  had  no  other  duty  than  to  aid  her  to 
gather  strength.  After  some  rearrangement  of  her 
room,  and  the  placing  of  fresh  flowers  where  she  could 
see  them  without  effort,  she  said,  ^  Oh,  how  lovely ! 
Do  not  let  me  have  anything  ugly  in  sight  while  I  have 
time  to  look  at  my  surroundings.  Let  us  rest  and  play  ! ' 
And  so  we  did,  during  a  week  of  convalescence,  while 
even  her  children  were  excluded  from  her  room  that  the 
mother  might  the  sooner  be  restored  to  them. 

^'  Then  I  learned  something  of  her  intense,  almost  pain- 
fully intense,  love  of  beauty  in  nature,  in  art,  in  litera- 
ture. We  read  fragments  from  great  authors,  and  looked 
over  the  few  fine  engravings  within  our  reach.  When  a 
little  stronger,  she  shared  with  me  letters  from  her  home 
friends,  and  lived  over  scenes  of  childhood  and  girlhood 
which  they  brought  to  mind.  More  intense  than  her  love 
for  any  external  beauty  was  that  for  moral  excellence. 
Her  face  would  glow  with  a  transfiguring  joy,  as  she 
told  of  some  deed  of  heroism  or  self-sacrifice.  I  have 
rarely,  perhaps  never,  heard  a  tone  of  such  reverence  and 
adoring  love  as  that  with  which  she  spoke  of  the  Saviour. 
Passages  from  the  Psalms  and  Gospels,  which  we  read  to- 
gether, are  indissolubly  associated  with  her  in  my  mind. 
So  many  times  in  those  days  I  found  her,  the  almost  trans- 
parent fingers  clasping  her  little  Bible,  and  a  look  on  her 
face  such  as  I  think  Mary  must  have  worn  when  she  sat 
at  the  feet  of  her  Lord.  Once,  I  remember,  she  said,  with 
broken  voice,  as  I  came  into  the  room,  ^  He  touched  them  ! 
Oh,  the  touch  of  that  hand  ! ' 

* '  The  impression  which  it  all  left  upon  me  is  vivid  yet. 
How  much  more  than  most  of  us  this  beauty-loving  ideal- 
ist had  given  up,  when  she  devoted  her  life  to  work  for 
the  lowly  in  a  Chinese  city,  so  far  from  any  of  the  things 


148  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

which  especially  appealed  to  her  tastes.  How  much  she 
might  have  done  with  her  pen, — how  her  keen  mind  would 
have  delighted  in  research  in  the  best  literature  ! 

*^With  returning  strength,  came  a  longing  for  her 
children  which  could  not  be  denied.  Her  welcome  for 
each  one  was  beautiful  to  see.  Her  merry  laugh  over 
their  pretty  ways  was  fresh  as  though  she  were  herself  a 
child,  and  as  she  lay  back  flushed  and  weary  on  her  pil- 
lows, she  said,  ^Oh!  I'd  forgotten  that  they  were  so 
lovely! '  So  she  came  back  to  the  workaday  world  for 
many  more  years  of  unstinted  service. 

"  We  toured  together  in  the  Yu  Cho  field,  and  the  prac- 
tical woman,  looking  after  details  of  cart  and  litter  equip- 
ment,— the  teacher  and  friend  ready  early  and  late  to 
meet  the  crowds  of  women  who  swarmed  about  us,  seemed 
quite  another  person  than  the  dainty  invalid,  but  always 
I  saw  in  her  the  enthusiast  and  mystic,  into  whose  inner 
life  I  had  been  permitted  a  glimpse,  whom  I  loved  and 
love,  and  shall  find  again,  when  we  meet  when  ^  this 
earthly '  has  been  laid  aside.  ^' 


IV 

THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE 

HER  FRUITS! 
These  are  her  fruits,  kindness  and  gentleness, 
And  gratefully  we  take  them  at  her  hands ; 
Patience  she  has,  and  pity  for  distress, 
And  love  that  understands. 

Ah,  ask  not  how  such  rich  reward  was  won, 
How  sharp  the  harrow  in  the  former  years. 
Or  mellowed  in  what  agony  of  sun, 
Or  watered  with  what  tears. 

— Mary  Eleanor  Roberts, 

^^Kalgauj  March  n,  187 L 
*^  My  Dear  Anna: 

"Don't  expect  anything  from  me  this  month  ex- 
cept £  s.  d,y  £  s.  d.j  all  over  the  page  !  I  have  just  been 
working  over  the  bills  for  the  English  goods,  and  with 
great  mental  strain  have  at  length  ferreted  out  the  matter. 
You  don't  know  what  a  blessing  a  decimal  currency  is. 
Here  we  have  Mexican  dollars,  Chinese  taels,  English 
money,  Eussian  currency,  American  money,  Kalgan,  Pe- 
king, and  Tientsin  money, — all  different, — and  bills  to 
work  out  with  all  these  mixed  up  together. 
"  Much  learning  hath  made  me  mad  !  '^ 

^^  Kalgan  J  March  21  j  187  L 
"Dear  Papa: 

".  .  .  On  my  birthday  I  had  a  Chinese  party, 
— a  dinner  party  !  Our  servant  and  his  wife,  Yung  Fu 
and  Hsin  Ching,  and  Liu,  the  young  peddler  who  is  a 
church-member,  and  his  mother. 

*  By  courtesy  of  McClure'a  Magazine, 
149 


150  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^'  This  morning  a  Chinese  woman  came  in,  and  was  here 
for  a  couple  of  hours.  I  wanted  to  write,  and  felt 
ashamed  that  I  did.  After  she  went  away,  I  was  glad 
that  I  had  tried  to  teach  her  of  Jesus,  for  she  seemed 
to  understand  what  was  said.  We  had  a  long  talk.  Af- 
ter dinner,  I  scribbled  off  a  page  to  Anna.  Just  as  it 
was  done,  a  half  dozen  women  came  in  for  a  friendly  chat. 
For  such  interruptions,  you  will  not  be  sorry  if  your  let- 
ters are  shortened.  I  am  writing  now  with  Stephen  in 
my  arms,  and  it  is  slow  work. 

'^  Next  month  we  shall  be  preparing  to  go  to  Peking  for 
mission  meeting.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  will  probably 
leave  for  England  immediately  after  our  meeting.  We 
shall  miss  them.  I  do  not  know  whether  any  one  will 
come  to  take  their  place  or  not.  But  Miss  Diament  is 
here,  you  know,  so  we  shall  not  be  alone.  Then  the 
children  are  great  company  for  us,  and  our  Chinese 
friends  too, — so  that  it  is  not  like  being  alone  when  first 
coming  to  China,  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  were. 

"A  kiss  from  Henrietta  and  Stephen.  I  wish  I  could 
show  you  this  precious,  precious  baby  of  mine.  I  think 
he  has  brought  a  new  revelation  of  motherhood  to  me.^' 

In  April  the  promised  visit  to  Peking  was  made.  A 
little  story,  written  afterwards  for  her  children,  describes 
the  start. 

Hetta's   Outing 

Up  and  down  she  jumped  all  about  the  court,  the  great 
rooster  sedately  coming  out  to  look  at  her.  The  idea 
came  into  her  mind  to  catch  him,  which  she  had  often 
tried  to  do  in  vain.  Now  she  rushed  in  pursuit,  and  off 
he  flew  to  the  roof  and  perched  close  by  the  cupola,  with 
its  tiny  shrine  and  the  comical  row  of  imps  on  each  side. 

Up  and  down,  out  and  in,  the  happy  little  girl  danced. 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  161 

"We  are  going,  we  are  going  to  Kambalu,  to-day,  to-day, 
and  I  don't  care  for  you,  old  rooster  ! '' 

Finally  she  hopped  into  the  coal  corner  ;  the  coal-room 
was  delightfully  dark — there  were  such  interesting  cob- 
webs at  the  end,  and  one  queer  great  spider.  ' '  Spider, 
I  am  going  to  Kambalu, — don't  you  wish  you  were  going 
too?"  On  the  pile  of  coal-dust  she  was  dancing, — she 
was  a  tiny  thing,  and  forgot  that  she  was  dressed  ready 
for  the  journey. 

Presently  mamma  came  out.  She  had  been  packing 
up  the  loaves  of  bread,  the  Jersey  biscuits,  and  roast 
meats.  "Where  is  Hetta?"  She  called  once  or  twice, 
and  a  cheerful  voice  came  out  of  the  coal-room  :  "  Here 
I  am,  mamma.  Going,  going  to  Kambalu!"  Mamma 
looked  distressed.  "It  is  almost  time  to  start,  and  what 
a  dirty  little  girl  you  are  ! "  So  Hetta  was  scrubbed  up, 
and  a  clean  suit  was  taken  out  of  a  valise  full  of  clothes 
for  the  journey. 

Now  she  had  her  lunch,  and  the  mules  were  led  in 
with  the  litters  (large  sedan  chairs)  j  the  bells  tinkled — 
such  a  delightful  sound  they  had  that  Hetta  and  the  baby 
ran  out  to  hear  and  see.  The  nurse  toddled  out  on  her  lit- 
tle feet,  but  the  baby  was  so  quick  that  he  disappeared 
around  one  corner  of  the  house  just  as  she  got  sight  of  him 
at  the  other.  So  she  called  out  to  her  big  boy  to  tell  the 
mule-driver  to  look  out  for  "baybay,"  which  the  jolly 
one  was  very  ready  to  do. 

Papa  came  on  the  scene  now,  with  an  armful  of  blankets 
and  rugs,  and  the  young  man  who  was  called  "Second 
Boy  "  brought  some  more.  These  were  packed  in  one  of 
the  litters  with  valises  and  bundles. 

Papa  said,  "Lao  Ma"  Tthat  means  "Aged  Nurse '^), 
"please  sit  in  this  litter,  and  keep  the  children  with  you." 
The  litter  was  set  down  at  the  door  of  her  room,  and  she 
was  an  old  woman,  so  it  was  all  right  for  her  to  be  there. 


152  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Baby  sat  with  her  and  watched  the  great  mules  eating  the 
cnt  straw  and  black  beans.  He  was  terribly  afraid  yet 
greatly  delighted  when  they  swished  their  tails,  or  when 
the  donkeys  lay  down  and  rolled,  saddle  and  all,  in  the 
dust.  How  the  drivers  scared  him,  scolding  and  pretend- 
ing to  cut  with  their  whips  ;  yet  nothing  could  have  kept 
him  in  the  house,  where  mamma  was  packing  the  last  bag 
and  locking  the  inside  doors. 

Now  she  comes  out.  Her  litter  is  set  up  nearly  on  end, 
hung  on  the  front  mule,  and  lifted  to  its  fastenings  on 
the  other  mule's  saddle.  Hetta  looks  out  while  baby's 
litter  is  put  up  in  the  same  way,  and  they  swing  away 
down  the  street,  while  the  little  girl  sings : 

"  Baby,  are  you  glad  too  ? 
Going,  going  to  Kambala ! " 

''PeUng,  AprU  27, 1871, 
**Deab  Anna: 

"Mission  meeting  days  are  busy  ones.  Not  a  mo- 
ment is  left  unoccupied.  After  the  evening  program,  sen- 
sible folks  like  me  creep  immediately  into  bed.  I  *  eat 
well '  these  days,  but  am  like  the  lean  kine  that  Pharaoh 
saw.  Stephen  is  fat  and  fair,  and  makes  up  for  my  defi- 
ciency. It  has  done  me  good  to  make  the  journey  down. 
Every  time  I  see  so  many  people  as  we  meet  between  here 
and  Kalgan,  it  stirs  me  up  to  be  active  in  work  and  prayer 
for  souls.  It  is  good  to  realize  the  great  need  of  these 
heathen,  over  and  over  again.     .     .     ." 

^^  Kalgan,  May  23,  1871, 
"  Carpenters  and  masons  fill  the  yards,  repairing  what 
is  to  be  Mr.  Williams'  study,  improving  the  roofs  in  the 
outer  yard,  and  rebuilding  chimneys.  The  outer  yard  is 
full  of  mud,  and  the  entrance  court  of  lime.  The  car- 
penters saw  and  plane  till  our  ears  are  tired,  and  our  eyes 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  163 

are  full  of  sawdust.  Miss  Porter  and  the  Wheelers  are 
coming  up  the  last  of  this  week,  and  I  am  hurrying  up 
my  work  to  go  with  Mr.  Williams  on  a  tour  to  Yu  Cho. 
Miss  Porter  goes  with  us  and  we  start  next  week. 

' '  On  our  way  home  from  Peking,  we  narrowly  escaped 
being  thrown  down  a  precipice  in  Nank^ou  Pass,  from 
the  foolhardiness  of  our  driver.  The  children  were  with 
me,  and  you  cannot  tell  how  I  clung  to  life,  for  them,  more 
than  for  myself.  The  strong,  safe  mules  took  us  out  of 
the  dreadful  danger,  and  I,  quivering  in  every  limb, 
thought,  ^God  has  yet  work  for  me,  or  for  these  children.' 

"  On  the  last  day,  when  Stephen  was  fretting  in  the  lit- 
ter, I  called  for  Mr.  Williams  to  carry  him  on  donkey- 
back  a  while.  Mr.  Thompson  offered  to  take  him  on  his 
horse.  The  careless  litter  driver  flirted  the  baby's  long 
clothes  in  the  horse's  face,  and  frightened  him.  He 
reared  and  threw  them  off.  Mr.  Thompson  held  the  lit- 
tle boy  close  to  his  breast,  so  that  in  the  fall  backward, 
he  was  not  injured  at  all.  Mr.  Thompson  was  hurt,  but 
not  seriously. 

"  The  McCoys  came  with  us  from  Peking.  Since  that, 
Bennie  has  been  very  sick.  They  depended  chiefly  on 
me  to  know  what  to  do.  It  was  a  crushing  responsibility. 
I  didn't  know  any  more  than  any  one  else  what  to  do,  but 
only  where  to  look  in  the  books.  I  set  the  rest  to  work, 
bathing  his  head,  rubbing  his  feet  and  hands,  while  I 
read  up  in  West  and  Bouchut.  In  a  few  minutes  I'd  jump 
up  and  say,  ^He  must  have  a  dose  of  calomel.'  We'd 
give  him  that,  and  then  I'd  go  to  the  books  again. 
'  Blister  on  the  back  of  his  neck.'  So  it  went.  We 
worked  all  day  with  him.  I  couldn't  endure  such  re- 
sponsibility, so  when  there  was  a  breathing  space,  we 
wrote  off  an  account  of  the  symptoms,  and  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Peking,  for  Dr.  Dudgeon.  Bennie  is  better  to- 
day." 


154  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

*'  Yu  Cho,  June  13^  187 L 
"My  Dear  Father  : 

"  We  left  home  two  weeks  ago  to-day  ;  had  a  pros- 
perous journey  down,  and  have  been  quite  as  much  en- 
couraged in  our  work  as  we  could  expect.  Last  Wednes- 
day we  went  down  to  West  Eiver  Camp,  and  stayed  till 
Saturday  morning.  Crowds  of  visitors  all  the  time,  ex- 
cept just  time  enough  for  meals,  and  a  little  rest  at  noon. 

"  I  wish  I  could  give  you  some  idea  of  the  work  we  find 
so  hard  and  yet  so  easy  when  the  love  of  Christ  fills  our 
hearts,  and  some  are  interested  to  hear  of  Him.  Prej- 
udices are  being  removed,  a  spirit  of  inquiry  is  stirred 
up,  and  if  the  harvest  does  not  come  now,  it  will  after 
a  while.  God's  Word  will  not  *  return  unto  Him  void.^ 
This  endeavor  to  speak  the  Word  of  God  to  so  many,  is 
blessed  work  when  we  are  listened  to  cordially  and  at- 
tentively. If  faith  is  strong,  it  is  blessed  even  when  all 
do  not  so  listen. 

"  A  good  preparation  for  these  more  trying  weeks  was 
the  journey  down — glorious  scenery  of  mountain  and 
plain  all  the  way.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  it  rested  us.  I 
understand  better  how  Jesus  loved  to  go  alone  to  the 
mountain  tops  for  prayer.  Those  few  days,  with  their 
rest  and  beauty,  seem  to  fill  a  greater  space  in  time  than 
many  weeks  of  common  life. 

*^  I  hope  to  gain  strength  on  this  trip.  Mentally  I  need 
it  more  than  bodily,  and  the  bodily  need  is  not  slight.  I 
feel  very  hopeful  about  it.'' 

A  description  of  this  tour  was  written  later  for  the 
Dakota  Word  Carrier, 

"  June,  1871. 

*^  Let  me  tell  you  the  story  of  a  journey  made  by  Mr. 
Williams,  Miss  Mary  Porter,  of  Peking,  myself  and  my 
ten  months'  baby,  Stephen  Eiggs. 

**The  carts  were  at  our  door,  and  we  kissed  the  three- 


THli  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  156 

yeax-old  daughter  who  was  to  be  left  in  Miss  Diament^s 
kind  care,  and  went  jolt-jolting  along  on  our  wearisome 
way.  There  were  donkeys  for  Miss  Porter  and  me,  so  that 
we  might  ride  in  the  cooler  parts  of  the  day  ;  and  as  we 
came  up  to  parties  of  women  washing  clothes  on  the 
smooth  stones  of  the  brooks,  we  stopped  and  talked  with 
them. 

"They  were  so  filled  with  amazement  at  hearing  us 
speak  their  language  that  they  would  pay  no  attention  to 
what  we  said.  '  Why  she  talks  Chinese  ! '  '  How 
strange  !  ^  ^  Do  look  at  their  saddles  !  ^  *  Wonderful  I  ^ 
*  The  foreigners'  things  are  all  nicer  than  ours.' 

"Sometimes  one  woman  listens  quietly  while  the  rest 
chatter  on,  and  we  hope  that  she  will  gain  something. 
And  she  does  gain  a  little,  if  only  the  tender  sound  of 
voices  touched  with  the  wondrous  love  of  the  story  they 
are  telling. 

"  As  we  beg  them  to  listen,  a  man  comes  by,  '  Pooh  ! 
you  women  know  nothing,'  and  politely  turning  to  us  he 
says,  ^Ladies,  don't  trouble  your  hearts  for  them. 
Chinese  women  are  too  stupid  to  learn  anything  ! ' 

"  He  passes  on  and  a  young  fellow  saunters  up,  ^  Don't 
you  be  listening  to  these  foreign  devils  !  What  do  they 
want  here  anyway  ? '  The  carts  come  creaking  up,  and 
we  sadly  ride  away. 

"When  we  stop  at  the  inns,  noon  and  night,  crowds 
gather  around  us,  as  if  a  menagerie  had  just  arrived. 
^  Do  look  at  that  baby  ! '  *  Ha,  ha,  ha,  ha.  What  white 
hair  ! '  '  They'll  dye  it  black  when  it  gets  big.'  '  How 
ugly  it  is  !  But  isn't  it  clean  ?  '  *  Why,  there  she's  going 
to  wash  its  face  ! '  ^  Is  this  the  woman  doctor  who  came 
last  year  ? '  *  No,  it  isn't.  I  know  that  one.  She  cured 
Er  Hsiaodz.' 

"How  weary  we  grow  of  so  many  eyes  and  tongues 
busied  with  us  and  our  doings. 


156  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  By  and  by  the  crowd  scatters  somewhat,  and  some 
pleasant- faced  women  come  in.  They  are  a  little  afraid, 
but  soon  they  sit  down  on  the  edge  of  the  brick  bed  and 
talk.  They  ask  about  our  age,  family  and  friends  ;  and 
we  answer,  knowing  that  if  anything  will  win  them,  it 
will  be  the  answering  all  these  questions  kindly.  Then 
one  of  us  tells,  as  plainly  and  distinctly  as  possible,  of 
God  and  His  Son  Jesus.  They  listen  respectfully,  and 
one  woman  says,  *  Jesus  is  your  God.  It  would  not  do  for 
us  to  worship  Him.     I  am  a  Buddhist.^ 

"  Miss  Porter  answers,  *  From  the  books  we  find  that 
Buddha  was  only  a  man.  Jesus  is  God.  You  as  well  as 
we  ought  to  worship  Him.  The  God  who  made  the  world 
and  keeps  us  all  alive,  is  He,  whom,  if  you  learn  about 
Him,  you  will  want  to  worship.  Here  is  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  ;  may  I  give  it  to  you  ?  ^ 

'^  ^  But  I  cannot  read  it !  ^ 

^^ '  Do  none  of  your  family  read  ?  ^ 

"  ^  My  son  reads  ;  he  is  coming  presently  ;  ^  and  while 
she  speaks  here  he  is.  After  a  long  talk  with  Mr.  Will- 
iams, he  takes  the  leaflet  of  Genesis,  and,  bowing  po- 
litely, goes  his  way.  One  seed  is  sown  ;  will  it  grow  ere 
long? 

^*  After  these  days  of  rough  and  barren  road,  we  come 
to  a  lovely  mountain  pass,  where  the  steep  slopes  are 
covered  with  leafage  and  flowers,  and  the  music  of  the 
brooklet  cheers  our  ears. 

"We  dine  to-day  in  a  town  of  30,000  inhabitants. 
Curiosity  is  wide  awake,  and  hundreds  are  gazing  at  us 
with  open-mouthed  wonder.  The  room  where  we  sit  is 
filled  to  overflowing;  the  paper  windows  are  instantly 
filled  with  holes,  and  at  every  hole  there  is  an  eye  ! 

"  Mr.  Williams  says,  *  Young  men,  you  may  all  go  out- 
side. 141  talk  to  you  and  explain  the  books  outdoors.' 
Out  they  go,  and  in  hobble  the  women,  young  and  old. 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  167 

Among  these  women  are  two  who  know  in  part  the 
Gospel  message.  They  are  timid  about  letting  others 
know  their  desire  to  see  us,  but  they  are  glad,  and  so  are 
we. 

"  After  passing  through  one  more  city  we  reach  the 
place  of  destination,  where  the  Christians'  greeting  is 
heartfelt  and  cheery. 

*'Soon  we  are  cozily  at  home  in  the  little  mission 
house,  but  the  rains  come,  and  we  are  shut  in.  A  few 
near  neighbors  come  to  see  us  between  showers,  while  all 
the  women  of  Yu  Cho  are  impatiently  waiting  for  the 
rain  to  stop.  When  the  skies  are  bright  again,  they 
come  in  by  tens  or  by  dozens  all  day.  Mr.  Williams  re- 
ceives the  men  in  one  room,  while  Miss  Porter  and  I, 
with  a  native  Christian  woman,  receive  our  visitors  in  two 
or  three  rooms.  Women  and  children,  and  some  men  as 
well,  are  all  eager  to  see  the  foreign  women.  Often  they 
are  sure  that  they  cannot  understand  when  we  speak  of 
Jesus  ;  while  remarks  on  any  other  subject  are  as  clear  as 
day  !  How  nobly  the  Christians  help  to  explain  the  way 
of  salvation ! 

*' Hundreds  come  on  the  last  two  days  ;  among  them 
some  Eoman  Catholics,  who,  unlike  all  others  whom  we 
have  seen,  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  Saviour's  redeeming 
work. 

*^  Turning  our  faces  homeward  at  Hsi  Ho  Ying  we  have 
bright,  sunny  days,  and  at  early  morning,  through  the 
day,  and  late  at  night  we  three  are  more  than  busy,  either 
with  large  companies,  or  with  but  two  or  three  auditors, 
repeating  over  and  over  again  the  stories  of  Creation  and 
Eedemption. 

^'  At  old  Pao  An  there  was  a  fair,  and  we  were  besieged 
at  our  inn.  Sorely  did  the  landlord  rue  the  hour  when 
he  gave  us  a  room,  for  in  a  few  minutes  a  noisy  crowd 
took  possession  of  the  court.    Eows  upon  rows  of  heads 


158  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

covered  our  windows,  from  which  all  the  paper  had  dis- 
appeared in  a  few  seconds,  and  the  court  was  wedged  full. 
Mr.  Williams  carried  Stephen  out  to  the  street  to  draw 
away  the  crowd,  so  that  Miss  Porter  and  I  might  have 
quiet. 

"  The  next  day  we  had  a  similar  experience.  I  will 
give  you  Mr.  Williams'  story  of  it.  *  As  we  passed 
Hsuan  Hua,  there  was  a  theatre,  and  we  neglected  to 
draw  down  the  cart  curtain.  The  multitude  caught 
sight  of  the  white-headed  baby,  and  surrounded  the  carts, 
so  that  the  driver  was  helpless.  He  begged  in  vain  for 
them  to  give  way.  I  rode  my  donkey,  and  flourished  my 
whip  with  no  result,  except  to  push  some  of  the  small- 
footed  girls  against  a  fruit  peddler's  baskets.  For- 
tunately, the  men  at  the  inn,  where  we  were  accustomed 
to  stay,  recognized  us,  and  mounting  the  driver's  seat, 
and  lashing  the  horse,  made  a  way  and  took  us  to  their 
inn.  The  people  followed,  but  the  landlord  unchained 
his  dogs,  and  the  mass  surged  back,  trampling  over  each 
other  in  their  haste  to  get  through  the  gate.  We  made  a 
present  to  the  unfortunate  peddlers,  and  resolved  to  keep 
the  cart  curtains  down  in  the  future.' 

"  Miss  Porter  went  on  to  Peking  under  the  escort  of  an 
elderly  Chinese  Christian.  It  was  the  first  anniversary 
of  the  Tientsin  massacre,  but  God  kept  us  all.  '  As  the 
mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is 
round  about  His  people.'  " 

"  If  any  time  my  Lord  had  let  my  hand 

Slip  out  of  His  Hpon  the  way  of  life; 
If  any  single  hour,  had  bid  me  stand 

Alone,  unshielded,  in  the  day  of  strife, 
I  then  might  doubt  Him,  for  the  world  is  great, 

And  I,  of  all  the  millions,  only  one. 
How  should  He  see  me  in  my  low  estate, 

Or  care  if  were  my  battle  lost  or  won  ? 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  169 

'  But  ever  when  the  road  has  roughest  been, 
The  guiding  Hand  has  closest  kept  its  hold; 

And  hardest  when  the  fight  with  grief  or  sin, 
Then  tenderest  the  Arm  that  did  enfold." 


^^  Kalgan,  July  6,  1871. 
"  My  Deae  Father  : 

"  To  celebrate  the  Fourth,  we  planted  the  Amer- 
ican flag  on  Lone  Eock.  Mr.  Gilmour  is  down  from 
Kiachta  now,  and  added  to  the  gayety  of  our  picnic.  He 
presided  over  the  Eussian  samovar,  and  interrupted  with 
'  God  save  the  Queen,'  when  we  sang  *  America.' 

"  While  we  were  at  our  tea,  a  storm  broke  over  us,  and 
a  torrent  came  roaring  down  the  dry  river-bed  until  in  a 
few  moments  it  was  too  deep  for  crossing.  Attempting 
it,  one  of  the  carts  went  partly  under  water,  and  was  in 
danger  of  upsettiDg  until  Mr.  Gilmour  waded  in  to  the 
rescue.  The  drivers  refused  to  go  forward  so  we  turned 
to  the  nearest  village,  not  reaching  it  until  ten  o'clock 
that  night.  The  children  were  sleepy  and  draggled,  and 
got  dreadful  bumps  from  the  carts,  such  as  we  used  to  get 
going  through  the  Big  Woods  when  we  were  little  tots  in 
Minnesota.  Fortunately  we  found  an  inn  with  one  large 
room,  and  eleven  of  us  slept  together  on  the  brick  Icang. 
The  gentlemen  spent  the  night  in  the  only  cart  that  got 
through  with  a  dry  bed,  and  we  were  all  glad  to  start 
home  before  dawn.  Our  Fourth  of  July  picnic  certainly 
added  something  to  our  experience.  I,  for  one,  didn't 
regret  it. 

^^  Mr.  Gilmour  has  pitched  his  tent  at  the  Gulicks',  and 
one  day  he  invited  us  to  a  meal  served  in  Mongol  style. 
He  used  argol  for  fuel,  and  showed  us  how  the  Mongols 
wash  their  dishes  by  licking  them  clean.  He  put  the 
children  on  the  camel  and  let  them  ride  around  the 
yard.    .    .    ." 


160  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

(To  her  brother  Henry.) 

''Kalgan,  Sept  18,  1871. 

"Your  birthday  has  almost  come  around  once  more. 
I  never  forget  it,  since  the  day  is  a  double  annivei-sary. 
But  I  seem  to  remember  it  more  for  your  sake  than  for 
Henrietta's,  because  she  is  always  with  me,  and  all  days 
are  alike  good. 

"I  am  busy  now  getting  winter  clothes  ready  for 
Stephen,  Etta,  and  the  two  Chinese  girls.  The  children 
are  noisy  and  confuse  me,  so  that  I  make  mistakes  in 
cutting.  I  remember  mamma  used  to  want  a  quiet  room 
if  ever  she  was  going  to  cut  coats  or  pants  for  you  boys. 

^  ^  The  rains  are  upon  us.  Sometimes  it  rains  all  day, 
misting  or  pouring  by  turns.  Sometimes  we  have  a  few 
hours  of  sunshine,  and  the  whole  earth  steams.  I've  not 
had  the  usual  help  from  servants  in  taking  care  of  the 
house  and  children.  The  small  feet  were  afraid  of  spoil- 
ing their  fine  shoes,  or  of  getting  a  fall  in  the  mud. 

'*  Our  landlord's  house  is  badly  used  up  by  the  rain  ; 
holes  clear  through  the  mud  wall,  ceilings  all  down,  and 
Mngs  broken  up,  so  he  takes  the  opportunity  to  beg  for 
money.  To-day  has  been  chiefly  spent  in  listening  to 
him  and  to  his  wife.  First  he  came  and  Wo  Vou-ed  to 
Mr.  Williams,  and  when  a  man  of  his  station  does  that, 
one  knows  something  miserable  is  in  the  wind.  He  in- 
sisted that  some  of  us  go  and  see  his  house.  Miss  Dia- 
ment  and  I  put  on  our  waterproofs,  and  picked  our  way 
through  the  'mud.  The  house  was  in  a  dreadful  state. 
The  whole  family  were  tearing  their  hair — (figuratively). 
We  promised  them  some  money,  but  the  brazen  fellow 
said  it  was  not  enough  ;  he  wanted  one  hundred  taels. 
His  wife  spent  the  afternoon  talking  with  me.  She  did 
it  faithfully,  as  the  lack  of  home  letters  this  mouth  will 
testify.  I  used  some  plain  language  to  her,  at  the  last, 
but  being  really  sorry  for  her,  notwithstanding,  kept  my 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  161 

temper.  They  are  well-to-do  people,  only  the  old  rascal 
of  a  man  gambles  all  his  money  away,  and  starves  his 
wife  and  children. 

"  My  cook,  speaking  of  this  man,  yesterday,  gave  me  a 
new  Chinese  proverb  :     — 

**  *  Who  in  the  third  and  fourth  months 
Mnds  not  his  roof  with  pain, 
He,  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  months, 
Curses  the  God  of  Bain.'  " 

'^Kalgauj  Oct.  18,  1871, 
"  Dear  Ones  at  Home  : 

"  The  box  you  sent  us  came  safely.  ^  Grandfath- 
er's picture '  is  one  which  Stephen  expects  his  father  to 
show  him  a  dozen  times  a  day.  He  must  go  home  to  some 
of  you  by  and  by,  for  it's  a  dreadful  thing  to  grow  up 
here.  We  were  never  half  thankful  enough  for  the  bless- 
ings of  our  younger  years. 

*^Mr.  Williams  studies  and  preaches  faithfully  these 
days.  My  children  take  most  of  my  time,  so  that  I  can- 
not visit  much,  but  we  have  calls,  and  quite  a  number  of 
applications  for  medicine.  To  meet  these,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  study.  Last  week  we  had  crowds  of  visitors. 
Indeed  we  had  to  keep  them  out  part  of  the  time,  or  we 
should  have  been  exhausted.  There  were  too  many, — 
fifty  or  more  at  a  time.  I  feel  more  successful  when  we 
have  but  two  or  three  at  a  time  to  talk  to.  In  a  year's 
time,  we  have  from  two  thousand  to  three  thousand 
callers.     Surely  the  seed  is  sown." 

"  November  21,  1871, 
^^  Stephen  is  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  us  all.     He  is 
laughing  just  now  at  a  rat  of  cotton  wadding  which  Liu 
Ma  has  made  for  him.     Birds,  both  in  pictures,  and  out- 
doors, are  his  especial  delight.     He  thinks  people  caii 


162  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

fly,  and  when  Etta  is  carried  off  to  bed,  he  says  she  flies. 
He  points  to  hats,  and  then  brays,  to  show  that  he  wants 
to  be  carried  out  to  see  the  little  donkey,  or  if  he  finds  a 
shawl,  drags  it  along  with  the  same  vocal  accompaniment 
to  his  laboring  steps." 

^^  November  22d. 

"  Dr.  Treat  has  just  told  us  of  a  terrible  fire  in  Chicago. 
I  think  of  Thomas,  and  long  to  hear  from  you  all.  Dr. 
Treat  leaves  to-morrow.  We  have  enjoyed  his  visit 
greatly.     Our  isolation  makes  us  very  glad  to  see  friends. 

"  A  couple  of  Chinese  ladies  have  just  come  in  to  see 
me.  They  tell  me  to  go  on  writing,  but  I  must  say 
good-bye.'* 

^^  January  15,  1872. 
^*Mr.  Williams  has  gone  to  call  on  the  Russians; 
Stephen  is  asleep,  and  Etta  is  sewing.     Pm  sitting  on 
the '' 

"  January  16th, 
"Before  I  could  write  'stove-hearth,'  Stephen  woke 
up,  and  that  was  the  end  of  writing  for  that  day.  We 
are  having  bitter  cold  weather,  ten  below  zero,  and  a 
strong  wind  blowing.  My  morning  sweeping  is  done, 
and  I  begin  again.  First  the  children  want  me  to  play 
be  a  tiger  (tang  lao  hu)  j  Etta  runs  away  in  great  terror, 
while  Stephen  walks  right  up  and  puts  his  arms  around 
my  neck. 

''Mr.  Williams  has  just  bought  a  great  bar  of  soap 
from  the  Russians.  It  weighs  over  fifty  pounds,  and 
costs  about  six  dollars, — not  quite  as  expensive  as  the 
soap  we  get  from  New  York.  Soap  that  we  make  is 
much  cheaper. 

"The  two  women  who  were  sewing  for  me  are  both 
sick.     I  am  so  sorry,  for  they  were  getting  along  so 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  163 

nicely  in  learning  the  catechism.  Wu  Ma  sews  in  Miss 
Diament's  room,  that  I  may  be  spared  her  talkative 
tongue.  There  being  no  other  Chinese  woman  there,  she 
is  forced  to  be  more  silent.  Hsin  Ching's  tongue  is  the 
hardest  of  all  to  bear,  however.     It  is  never  weary. 

"Genesis,  with  Lange's  Commentary,  is  exceedingly 
interesting.  I  haven't  yet  been  able  to  study  thoroughly 
the  introduction,  which  seems  dry,  but  the  rest  is  not. 

"Some  time  ago  a  Buriat  had  a  finger  injured  in  a 
fight  with  some  Chinamen  who  were  trying  to  steal  the 
tea  he  was  in  charge  of.  I  wanted  him  to  go  to  Peking, 
thinking  amputation  of  the  first  joint  was  necessary.  It 
was  impossible  for  him  to  go,  so  he  has  been  coming  here 
to  have  it  dressed,  and  I  am  proud  to  say  that  the  finger 
is  nearly  well." 

^^Kalgauj  Feb.  9,  1873, 
"  The  weeks  of  this  lonely  life  fly  just  the  same  as  if 
we  were  a  part  of  the  world,  and  not  away  by  ourselves 
in  the  desert.  I  wish  life  in  the  wilderness  might  be  to 
us  what  Elijah's  sojourn  in  Horeb  was  to  him  j  that  we 
might  be  made  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of 
His  arm  begin  anew  our  combat  with  the  world,  the  flesh 
and  the  devil. 

"  Yesterday  was  Chinese  Kew  Year's  Day.  A  Sabbath- 
like stillness,  broken  by  no  sound  except  occasional  fire- 
crackers, made  the  day  pleasant.  The  mill  next  door  to 
us,  which  shakes  our  walls,  jarring  the  dishes  together 
and  confusing  our  brains,  is  quiet,  and  it  seems  some- 
thing to  be  thankful  for.  Chinese  gentlemen  (and  all  are 
such  now)  go  about  making  IN'ew  Year's  calls.  The  wives 
stay  at  home  to  cook,  and  sometimes  to  receive  calls 
when  the  callers  are  such  as  it  is  proper  for  them  to  see. 
All  are  dressed  in  their  best.  The  little  boys  go  through 
the  streets  kicking  feather  toys,  and  firing  crackers." 


164  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^'February  12th. 

"  We  are  still  in  the  midst  of  the  comforts  and  discom- 
forts of  Chinese  New  Year.  Invitations  to  dine  are  im- 
minent. The  ^Iron  Man^  (a  Christian)  invited  us  for 
Wednesday,  but  they  all  spend  so  much  (comparatively 
speaking)  on  their  entertainments  that  it  is  best  to  de- 
cline them. 

**Our  washerman  is  a  gentleman  now,  and  will  not 
find  it  convenient  to  serve  us  for  a  week  or  two.  I  did  a 
little  washing  this  morning,  and  must  do  more  to-morrow. 
Our  washing-machine  must  come  in  play  to  astonish  the 
natives,  and  strike  old  Liu's  heart  with  terror. 

*'  Yesterday  (Sabbath)  we  had  a  call  from  a  Mr.  Titu- 
skin,  an  English-speaking  Eussian  gentleman  who  is 
acting  professor  of  German  and  Eussian  in  the  Peking 
University.  He  seems  quite  friendly,  and  apologized  for 
calling  on  the  Sabbath,  saying  that  he  did  not  know 
what  our  customs  were.  It  did  seem  good  to  hear  the 
voice  of  some  one  besides  ourselves  speaking  the  familiar 
tongue. 

"The  distress  in  Tientsin  and  vicinity  is  terrible. 
Thousands  must  die  of  starvation.  Mr.  Williams  has 
sent  one  hundred  dollars  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of 
sufferers.  It  is  nothing  among  so  many,  but  it  is  all  we 
ought  to  give. 

"Miss  Porter  writes : — ^Mr.  Blodget  has  just  finished 
working  over  the  old  hymns,  and  is  now  busy  on  some 
new  translations.  I'm  sorry  that  he  must  do  this  work 
alone,  but  don't  know  who  could  assist  him.  He  is  very 
busy  with  his  class  of  helpers,  his  school  and  transla- 
tions, and  is  so  cheerful  and  hopeful  that  it  makes  me 
glad  to  see  him.^ 

"It  will  not  be  long  before  we  start  for  Peking  to 
attend  mission  meeting.  We  shall  all  be  very  glad  to 
go.    It  will  freshen  us  up,  for  we  are  lonely  here.     Miss 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  165 

Diament  is  a  treasure.  She  is  unvarying  in  kindness 
and  cheerfulness. 

^'  Lange's  Commentary  is  one  of  my  best  friends  these 
days.  I  read  Grenesis  and  Matthew.  I  only  wish  I  had 
commenced  earlier  to  study  the  Bible. 

**  On  Chinese  New  Year  I  let  the  children  celebrate  by 
popping  some  of  the  corn  that  Henry  and  Eobert  shelled 
for  us  to  eat  on  the  sea  voyage.  Pve  been  very  saving 
of  it,  and  keep  it  in  the  bag  like  mamma's  dress,  which 
Cornelia  made  for  me.'^ 

''Kalgan,  Feb,  17 ^  1872, 
"Dear  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"February  17,  1859,  was  when  you  first  came  to 
us.  Thank  God  that  you  did  come.  Your  little  baby 
life  was  worth  a  great  deal  to  your  elder  sisters,  teaching 
them  to  be  less  selfish,  teaching  them  to  love,  and  help- 
ing them  to  be  cheerful  and  glad  instead  of  being  discon- 
tented and  miserable  without  cause.  .  .  .  Eobert, 
too,  was  a  little  one  whose  mission  was  a  blessing.  It 
would  not  have  been  good  for  us  to  have  been  without 
either  of  you.  Bobbie  was  my  boy,  and  I  used  to  ask 
mamma  if  I  mightn't  send  him  to  college.  If  God  per- 
mits, I  will  send  him  something  every  year  until  he 
finishes  his  studies.     .     .     . 

"I  hope  you  are  committing  a  great  many  precious 
Bible  verses  to  memory.  Now  is  your  golden  time.  I 
learned  too  few.     .    .     ." 

^^Kdlgan,  March  19,  1872, 
"My  Dear  Father  : 

"Mr.  Thompson  has  AUibone's  'Dictionary  of 
Authors.'     Eev.  S.  R.  Riggs  has  a  niche  in  it. 

"  Miss  Diament  and  I  have  been  dipping  into  '  Among 
my  Books'  and  'My  Study  Window,' and  have  enjoyed 


166  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

them.  But  oh,  how  much  better  is  the  Bible  !  God  is 
leading  me  to  care  less  for  the  culture  of  ordinary  read- 
ing, and  to  find  blessings  flowing  in  a  constant  stream 
from  His  holy  Word.  The  longest  life  will  not  suffice 
for  its  study. 

"About  a  bushel  of  papers  and  magazines  came  to-day, 
— the  first  we  have  had  since  November.  Scribner^Sy 
Living  Ages,  Independents  and  Advance — why,  it^s  a  sort 
of  intoxication,  such  an  avalanche  all  at  once  ! '' 

^^  May  26  J  1872, 
"Our  good  Christian  Li  is  dead.  Mr.  Williams  and  I 
went  to  see  his  wife  and  old  mother  this  afternoon.  They 
greeted  us  with  emotion.  We  wept  with  them,  and 
spoke  of  glorious  resurrection  hopes.  They  listened  and 
were  somewhat  comforted.  His  wife  will  probably  be 
obliged  to  marry  again  on  account  of  very  poverty.  Li's 
brother  has  never  been  counted  as  having  business  tact, 
and  they  all  doubt  his  being  able  to  support  father, 
mother,  wife  and  two  babies,  without  counting  his  brother's 
wife  and  son. 

"Li's  last  word  was 'Amen.'  Although  he  may  not 
have  been  entirely  free  from  error  and  superstition,  yet 
his  understanding  and  acceptance  of  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  were  hearty  and  gratifying.  We  hope  that  his 
death  will  be  a  point  of  awakening  for  many.  His  old 
father  desires  baptism. 

"I  have  been  rereading  your  letters.  There  are  many 
precious  ones  which  warmed  my  heart.  Thank  God  for 
friends  and  their  loving  letters  ! " 

"  Kalgan,  June  17,  1872. 
"  My  Dear  Anna  : 

"  Your  letters  are  precious  to  me.     Their  sparkles 
of  mirth  and  wit  brighten  me  up,  and  cheer  me  again 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  167 

and  again.  I  neglect  letter-writing  of  late,  but  am 
ashamed  of  it  when  the  dear  home  letters  come. 

''I've  been  planting  all  the  flower  seeds  we  have,  and 
am  looking  anxiously  for  some  of  them  to  come  up. 
Something  that  looks  suspiciously  like  sunflower  is  up, 
but  I  didn't  plant  any,  so  it  must  be  one  of  those  learned 
and  euphonious  flowers  which  I  don^t  know. 

''  We  are  full  of  plans  for  marrying  and  giving  in  mar- 
riage, just  now.  Miss  Hsin  Wu  is  sewing  busily  on  her 
bridal  outfit.  '  Topsy '  is  also  spoken  for,  and  the  futui-e 
mother-in-law  is  to  take  her  on  trial.  If  she  doesn't  want 
her,  the  young  lady  is  to  come  back  again.  The  two 
girls  will  go  into  respectable  Chinese  families,  and  seem 
to  be  saved  for  this  life.  They  know  of  a  Saviour,  so  that 
when  any  stress  of  trouble  comes,  they  may  seek  Him. 

"Etta,  Stephen  and  Geng  Yuan,  our  servant's  little 
boy,  are  having  a  great  frolic  about  the  room.  Wu  Ma 
is  cutting  out  stockings  for  the  future  bride,  Mrs.  Tsai  is 
working  on  some  of  the  children's  clothes,  Li's  wife  is 
making  a  new  straw  tick  for  the  lounge,  while  Hsin 
Ching  is  ripping  up  one  of  their  bed  comforts  for  wash- 
ing. The  Chinese  don't  use  sheets,  but  disrobe  entirely, 
and  run  themselves  into  the  bed  comfort  as  the  wick  goes 
into  the  candle  mold. 

"  When  you  get  your  house  with  the  grand  organ,  I'll 
come  to  see  you,  dear.  But  it  will  not  do  to  wait  for  that. 
I  think  perhaps  it  will  be  best  for  us  both  to  look  towards 
the  glorious  Home  where  will  be  perfect,  rapturing  har- 
mony. These  dreams  of  what  might  be  here,  may,  how- 
ever, be  of  the  highest  use,  if  we  can  always  remember 
how  much  better  heaven  is. 

"  May  you  be  helped  in  all  wisdom  to  pray  and  work 
for  the  souls  of  others.  You  will  find  ways  to  work  if  you 
seek  them,  and  prayer  has  always  a  path  straight  up  to 
God.     Oh,  pray  for  me, — for  us  all,  I  entreat  you,  pray  ! '' 


168  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

(To  her  father.) 

<'  Kalgan,  Dec,  23,  1872. 

".  .  .  A  woman  has  lately  made  me  several  visits, 
wanting  medicine  and  food  for  her  sick  husband.  He 
has  been  an  opium- smoker  for  some  years,  and  so  was 
an  easy  victim  to  bronchial  trouble.  Unable  to  work  the 
last  few  months,  he  could  have  neither  his  usual  amount 
of  opium,  nor  sufficient  food,  so  that  he  declined  rapidly. 
We  gave  medicine  and  food.  Three  days  ago,  his  wife 
came  to  tell  me  that  he  was  dead.  For  several  days  he 
had  eaten  nothing,  knowing  that  their  scanty  pittance 
was  not  enough  to  enable  his  wife  to  satisfy  their  little 
baby^s  hunger.  The  filth  of  her  rags  was  loathsome,  and 
her  hands  were,  each  of  them,  one  great,  puffed,  shining 
chilblain.  We  gave  her  money  to  help  bury  her  dead, 
thankful  even  for  his  sake  that  it  was  over.  I  don't 
know  how  I  dared  say  that,  and  yet  it  does  seem  as  if 
hell  could  not  be  worse  than  such  a  dreadful  life, — the  fire 
and  gnawing  of  the  opium  hunger, — starvation  and  cold, 
the  racking  of  bodily  disease  !  O  Father  in  heaven, 
have  mercy  upon  these  poor  creatures  who  have  no  mercy 
upon  themselves  ! 

^'  Before  this  man  was  dead,  another  case  forced  itself 
upon  us.  The  family  were  once  in  prosperous  circum- 
stances, but  in  an  evil  hour,  the  son  began  to  use  opium. 
He  is  a  silversmith  and  was  good  at  his  trade.  But  the 
opium  devil  came  into  his  house,  taking  possession,  and 
even  his  wife  became  its  slave.  Before  long  their  good 
furniture  began  to  disappear.  Then  the  commoner  things, 
one  by  one,  until  the  house  was  bare,  and  the  children 
chattering  with  cold  and  crying  for  food.  Again  and 
again  this  man  cheated  his  employers,  deceiving  about 
weights,  and  even  pawning  articles  given  him  to  be  re- 
paired or  altered.  He  had  to  flee  from  Kalgan  to  a  vil- 
lage ten  miles  away.    The  same  thing  was  repeated  there. 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  169 

He  came  back  to  Kalgan  to  beg  money  from  us.  We 
refused,  saying  we  gave  no  money  to  buy  opium,  but  that 
he  might  bring  his  children  to  us,  and  we  would  care  for 
them.  So  the  boy  and  girl  came  to  us,  dressed  in  a  few 
filthy  rags.  The  man's  poor  sister  cries  and  cries  over 
him.  When  she  works  for  me  she  wants  to  tell  me  all 
about  their  misery,  but  I  cannot  bear  to  know  all. 

"I  must  tell  you  one  more  story.  When  Hsia  Hsien 
Sheng  began  teaching  the  Boys'  School,  he  and  his  wife 
had  a  baby  which  they  had  bought  and  adopted.  I  was 
touched  by  the  tender  affection  both  husband  and  wife 
manifested  for  the  child.  It  warmed  my  heart  to  go  there. 
The  woman  had  an  instinct  of  love,  like  some  brute 
creatures,  but  the  man  had  more, — he  was  so  gentle, 
thoughtful  and  patient  with  the  poor  little  sufferer.  Here 
is  a  man,  said  I,  who  may  be  led  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

*^  Some  years  later,  and  what  of  the  same  man?  His 
child  is  dead.  He,  too,  is  dead  to  all  that  is  good.  That 
gentle  manliness  is  gone  :  instead  is  a  sneaking  meanness. 
Money  he  borrows  here  and  there.  Bills  are  run  up  at 
every  shop.  The  husband  and  wife,  once  loving,  quarrel 
continually.  Finally  he  sells  her.  This  is  considered  a 
disgraceful  act  even  in  China.  Why  this  dreadful  change  ? 
Opium,  cursed  opium  has  done  it  all. 

*'  As  we  go  along  the  streets,  we  see  men  slinking  into 
the  opium  dens.  Oh,  to  think  how  many  there  are  of 
these  hell-mouths  !  What  a  sad  letter  for  you.  Oh,  that 
I  might  send  it  instead  to  the  English  people  !  I  could 
go  on  my  knees  and  with  tears  beg  that  Christian  nations 
would  have  mercy  upon  poor  heathen  China.  See  the 
long  procession  in  the  dance  of  death  I  Will  not  hell 
soon  be  full?" 

^^  January  J  1873. 

" .  .  .  Pray  for  us.  We  are  lonely  and  weary 
sometimes.     Living  here  in  this  heathen  land  is  a  kind  of 


iro  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

death,  a  long  dying.     But  Jesus  is  here,  and  we  learn  to 
love  Him  more  and  more  as  the  years  go  by.     .    .     ." 

^^Kalgan,  Feb.  4,  1873. 
"My  Dear  Father  : 

"  Our  Tuesday  evening  prayer-meeting  is  just 
over.  We've  been  cleaning  house  to-day.  I  swept  a 
room  and  mixed  the  bread  before  my  two  Chinese  assist- 
ants came,  a  deafish  old  man,  and  a  dirty  boy.  While 
I  molded  the  loaves,  they  took  down  and  dusted  the  pic- 
tures. Etta  had  been  at  work  taking  tacks  up  from  the 
carpet,  and  had  it  half  done,  which  was  very  good  for  a  lit- 
tle girl.  Then  the  children  were  sent  to  their  papa's 
study,  the  carpet  was  taken  up,  the  floor  swept,  and  I 
scrubbed,  while  the  two  heathen  Chinese  wiped  up. 
Then  we  had  dinner  in  the  study,  the  men  beat  the  car- 
pet, I  baked,  and  we  washed  the  study  floor.  While  I 
set  the  table  to-night,  the  children  had  their  Bible  stories 
from  their  father. 

"Miss  Diament  and  I  have  been  thinking  much  lately 
of  reviving  the  Girls'  School.  While  the  beggar  girls 
were  here,  after  they  had  grown  so  large  that  they  must 
necessarily  influence  younger  ones,  we  could  not  plan  for  it. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you  use  the  money  which 
has  come  to  me  in  any  missionary  way  which  you  may 
think  desirable.  What  are  the  needs  of  your  Indian  stu- 
dents at  Beloit  ?  Perhaps  there  are  some  sick  among  the 
Indians  to  whom  you  would  like  to  send  some  little  com- 
forts.    .     .     ." 

''Kdlgan,  Feb.  19,  1873. 
"  My  Dear  Brother  Alfred  : 

".  .  .  The  Emperor,  a  fifteen  or  sixteen  year  old 
boy  is  to  ascend  the  throne  on  February  twenty-third. 
The  demand  that  foreign  ministers  be  allowed  audience  is 
talked  o£ 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  ITl 

**  After  morning  work  I  took  up  the  March  and  April 
Scribner^s  and  read  ^  A  Sick-room  Paper.'  On  finishing, 
I  took  a  knife  into  my  bedroom  and  opened  the  upper 
windows.  We  have  paper  windows  and  we  paste  up  all 
the  cracks  when  the  cold  grows  intense,  but  it's  time  now 
to  cut  them  open.  Don't  think  we  have  no  ventilation  ! 
Any  quantity  of  dust  sifts  in  through  the  paper,  and 
where  that  finds  entrance,  air  certainly  can.  To-day  is 
charming.  To-morrow  the  wind  may  blow  a  hurricane, 
and  sand  will  come  in  by  the  spoonful.  I  may  repent 
opening  the  crack  !  Lest  I  should  not  get  into  the  spirit 
of  doing  the  like  again,  I'd  better  open  the  rest  of  the 
windows  while  this  weather  keeps  me  in  the  mood. 

^'  I  get  Sarper^s  Weekly  still.  Now  the  political  cam- 
paign is  over,  it  ought  to  be  better  for  my  purpose,  which 
is  the  having  pictures  to  give  away.  I  gather  pictures 
from  advertisements  also, — houses,  sewing-machines  and 
melodeons,  thinking  that  prejudice  against  us  may  be 
disarmed,  and  a  great  deal  of  useful  knowledge  spread  by 
the  gift  of  even  such  simple  pictures.  It  is  with  prayer- 
ful feelings  that  I  give  many  of  them.  When  giving  pic- 
tures away,  I  generally  try  to  adapt  the  gift  to  my  idea  of 
the  person.  I  have  some  good  pictures  of  scenery  taken 
from  Appletori's  (Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  sent  me  some 
numbers),  which  will  wait  a  long  time  for  the  right  per- 
son.    .     .     .'^ 

^^Kalgan,  March  18,  1873, 
"My  Deae  Brother  Alfred  : 

".  .  .  Mr.  Gilmour,  a  Scotch  missionary  to 
the  Mongols,  is  here.  He  is  a  man  of  overflowing  energy 
and  vivacity.  His  present  plan  for  work  is  to  get  two  or 
three  camels,  and  go  about  here  and  there  through  Mon- 
golia, visiting  every  village  or  hamlet  in  his  way.  He 
proposes  to  be  gone  for  seven  or  eight  months. 


1Y2  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

*  *  Mr.  Gilmour  seems  quite  a  character.  He  has  a  great 
proclivity  for  slang.  He  is  Scotch  to  the  core,  and  insists 
on  calling  our  oatmeal  porridge  Hhey'  and  'them.^  He 
does  this  partly  from  mischief.  ^  I'll  take  a  few  more  of 
them,'  he  says,  looking  towards  the  oatmeal  dish.  'They 
are  uncommonly  good.'  It  is  refreshing  to  have  him 
with  us.  His  exposition  of  Scripture  is  often  a  feast,  and 
he  is  a  devoted  Christian  and  missionary." 

''March  19th. 
''  You  perhaps  know  that  we  are  expecting  Mr.  Sprague 
and  his  wife  to  come  here  with  a  view  to  Mongol  work. 
" .    .    .    Love  to  Maiy  and  all  the  bairns. 

"Ever  your 

"Isabella.'' 

(To  her  sister  Anna.) 

''  Kalgan,  Aug.  13,  1873. 

"I'm  rejoicing  over  a  letter  from  you.  It  is  like  open- 
ing your  door  again,  and  taking  a  good  peep  at  you.  I 
revelled  in  those  catalogues  you  sent.  And  I  planted  some 
of  the  phlox  and  mignonette.  Only  four  little  plants 
came  up.  They  are  very  delicate,  the  blossoms  are  few, 
and  green  worms  have  tried  to  eat  up  the  mignonette.  I 
do  love  them,  nevertheless. 

"  We  have  given  seed  of  home  corn  to  the  Chinese  here, 
and  they  are  raising  it  successfully.  We  had  some  yes- 
terday for  dinner.  Messrs.  Gulick,  Thompson  and  Gil- 
mour dined  with  us.  Mr.  Gilmour  is  leaving  for  a  sum- 
mer's trip  on  camel-back  into  Mongolia.  I  gave  him  a 
magazine  which  has  a  lovely  Scotch  lassie  on  the  cover. 
I  hope  it  will  make  him  want  to  find  a  lassie  for  him- 
self!" 

"  August  22d. 

"Our  mail  came  yesterday.  Sabbath,  but  as  we  do  not 
pay  any  money  out  until  the  next  day,  and  the  carrier 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  1Y3 

was  a  new  man,  he  would  not  leave  it.     Before  breakfast 
this  morning,  lie  came  again.     We  did  not  eat  much  ! 

*'  My  Stephen  boy  was  three  years  old,  August  twenty- 
second.  He  had  a  birthday  party,  inviting  Mrs.  Gulick's 
Martha,  and  little  blind  Te  Mai  to  an  open  air  lunch." 

"^Mnth  month,  tenth  day' — I  write  the  date  in 
Chinese,  and  look  at  the  calendar,  which  says  that  the 
10th  of  the  9th  month  of  the  12th  year  of  Tung  djir's 
reign  is  the  30th  of  October,  1873. 

"You  speak  of  Enos'  wife.  Comfort  her,  from  me, 
with  the  thought  of  her  children  in  heaven.  In  the  midst 
of  so  much  misery  of  the  dying,  and  the  sin  of  infanticide, 
I  find  my  great  consolation  in  this,  that  this  great  multi- 
tude of  dying  and  murdered  children  have  joined  the  re- 
deemed in  heaven. 

"Our  servant's  wife  has  had  twelve  or  thirteen  chil- 
dren. But  only  four  are  living.  She  killed  none  of  hers 
however.     Her  case  is  a  very  common  one. 

"Were  I  to  judge  from  the  inquiries  I  have  made,  I 
I  should  say  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  those  born  in 
China  die  or  are  murdered,  in  infancy,  or  early  child- 
hood. Think  of  the  great  multitude !  *  These  from  the 
land  of  Sinim ! '  Isabella." 


^^Kalgan,  Nov.  12,  1873. 
"  Dear  Father  : 

"I'm  not  in  the  most  charming  mood  for  writing 
to-day.  Our  house  is  being  papered  for  the  first  time  since 
we  came  into  it.  After  a  day  of  dirt  and  discomfort  and 
the  prospect  of  three  more,  my  patience  gave  out,  and  I 
asked  the  paperers  to  do  some  night  work,  so  they  are  at 
it  this  evening,  as  I  write.  The  ceiling  is  papered  with 
Chinese  paper,  and  the  wall  with  foreign.    You  haven't 


174  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

an  idea  of  how  much  dirt  has  come  down  from  the  ceil- 
ing !  Tiles  are  dirt,  originally,  and  there  must  be  other 
trash  used  in  the  fearful  and  wonderful  structure  which 
we  call  a  roof. 

^^The  four  men  who  are  papering  are  having  a  lovely 
time.  We  have  left  them  to  their  own  devices.  I  hope 
they  won't  carry  off  a  stove  lid  or  a  poker  in  their  sleeves 
when  they  go.  I  know  they  can't  steal  paper,  for  there 
is  just  enough  to  finish  with  ! 

^^The  children  had  the  study  for  a  refuge  to-day,  but 
they  preferred  to  wander  around  disconsolately,  with  red 
noses  and  chapped  hands.  Etta  varied  that  monotony 
by  painting  herself  with  red  ink  till  she  looked  like  a  red 
Indian,  or  a  Chinese  belle.  Etta  is  making  fine  progress 
in  reading  these  days.  She  thinks  over  words,  and 
springs  them  on  us  at  meal-time.'' 

^^  November  14th. 
"Still  papering!" 

^^Kalgan,  Feb.  17,  187 4. 
**  My  Deae  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"  It  is  Chinese  New  Year's  Day,  and  your  birthday 
as  well.  The  Chinese  kept  it  up,  pop,  pop,  pop,  half  the 
night,  and  an  occasional  report  of  firecrackers  is  yet  to 
be  heard.     .     .     . 

"Stephen  knows  two  verses  of  *  Twinkle,  Twinkle, 
Little  Star.'  He  and  his  papa  have  great  talks.  Oh,  so 
many  stories, — all  the  Bible  stories  there  are, — and  a 
great  many  others  about  *  when  papa  was  a  little  boy/ 
about  Indians,  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth.  Stephen  says 
^  he  is  going  to  kill  a  deer  for  papa  when  he  grows  old  and 
blind  like  Isaac'  But  for  fear  *  papa  would  choke  on 
the  horns  and  hoofs,  he  will  be  careful  that  they  are  not 
cooked  with  the  rest' " 


JOURNEYING  TO  KALGAN 


ifcr^"^ 

'~^^^p 

^     ^    t 

jfm  u% 

■.■mms^mmam 

■Ej^ 

THE  HOME  AT  KALGAN 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  176 

^^  July  18,  187 Jf. 

" .  .  .  Our  rainy  season  has  begun,  and  the  flower 
bed  and  the  pots  are  green  with  mold.  Our  paper  win- 
dows are  getting  a  little  wet.  Occasionally  a  drenching 
rain  beats  against  them  and  tears  them.     .     .     . 

"  Etta  is  buried  in  the  Eiverside  Magazine  again.  Mr. 
Thompson  gave  all  of  our  missionary  children  presents 
this  spring, — yearly  volumes  of  the  Eiverside.  I  do  wish 
Etta  was  with  you.  I  believe  her  young  auntie  would 
influence  her  more  than  her  old  mother  does. 

"  I  hope  my  letters  are  not  a  delusion,  though  it  is 
nice  that  you  think  them  cheerful.  But  as  to  not  having 
any  troubles,  why,  I  have  a  great  many  anxieties,  and 
we  have  some  heavy  troubles  except  as  Jesus  bears  them 
for  us.     .     .     .     Good-bye. 

*^  Yours  lovingly, 

*'  Isabella." 

^^Kalgauj  July  81,  187 J^ 
"  Dear  Anna  : 

^'  The  chicks  are  so  lively  that  I've  decided  to  get 
up  while  they  are  asleep,  and  write  you  all  about  my 
flowers.  First  and  foremost  is  a  great  sunflower.  I  did 
not  plant  it,  but  let  it  live  as  a  matter  of  duty,  because 
sunflowers  create  ozone,  which  is  lamentably  needed  in 
China.  My  nasturtiums  and  mignonette  are  doing  finely. 
I  planted  all  the  seeds  you  sent  me. 

'^  Theatre  at  our  gate  began  day  before  yesterday. 
Mrs.  Sheffield  says  we  ought  to  call  it  opera.  A  dozen 
visitors  yesterday  ;  one  woman  so  well  satisfied  that  we' re 
Russians  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  setting  her 
straight. 

''Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick  are  out  on  the  Mongolian 
plateau,  seventy  miles  from  here.  They  are  camping  in 
regular  Mongol  style. 


1Y6  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  Oh,  such  a  bouquet  of  larkspurs  and  mountaiii  pinks 
as  Mrs.  Sheffield  brought  back  from  the  hills  yesterday. 
I  ought  to  take  my  children  out  oftener.  Etta  is  wild  to 
go.  The  other  day  we  went,  and  Mr.  Williams  put  the 
baby  down  on  the  gravel  bed  at  the  foot  of  a  glen.  Oh, 
how  happy  she  was,  heaping  her  dress  full  of  gravel, 
while  the  others  ran  about  gathering  morning-glories,  red 
lilies,  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth,  of  which  I  don^t  know 
the  names.  I  used  to  be  a  botanist  in  Minnesota,  but 
there's  no  time  for  that  here. 

^^  I'm  not  doing  any  sewing  this  summer.  We  all 
wear  what  we've  got,  and  it's  delightful ! 

"  Baby  begins  to  nestle  about.  There'll  be  an  end  to 
writing,  I  fear.'' 

"  Kalgan,  July  SI,  187 J^ 
"  My  Dear  Robert  . 

'^ .  .  .  After  breakfast  this  morning  we  hired 
a  big  cart,  clumsy  as  a  lumber  wagon,  and  I  took  all  the 
children  out  for  a  ride.  We  went  up  the  valley  where 
the  Russian  traders  live,  past  their  houses  and  beyond, 
as  far  as  our  carter  could  be  induced  to  go,  for  200  cash 
(about  sixteen  cents).  The  fresh  mountain  air  was  de- 
lightful, and  we  found  some  pretty  flowers  without  climb- 
ing much.  If  you  had  been  with  us,  you  would  have 
been  scaling  rocks  and  frightening  me,  undoubtedly  ! 

"  The  theatrical  performance  at  our  gate  is  dum — dum 
— dum,  bang — bang — bang,  hum — hum — humming  away. 
Emily  is  having  a  sweet  sleep  after  her  long  and  jolting 
ride  ;  Stephen  is  playing  with  his  camels,  elephants  and 
horses,  and  Etta  is  swinging." 

^^  After  dinner, 
*'  About  eight  women  and  as  many  girls  came  in  for  a 
little  visit.    I  showed  them  my  photographs,  especially 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  177 

those  new  ones  of  my  '  seventh  younger  brother,'  and  my 
^eighth  younger  sister.'  This  isn't  meant  for  nonsense 
but  is  real  Chinese.  We  count  beginning  with  the  eldest, 
so  as  to  show  one's  place  in  the  family. 

We  shall  have  no  tomatoes  this  year.  Our  little 
donkey  tramped  them  all  down.  Fruit  such  as  apples, 
grapes  and  peaches,  is,  as  a  rule,  abundant,  so  we  do 
very  well.  Peaches  are  very  inferior.  The  best  of  them 
do  have  a  little  suspicion  of  peach  flavor  ! 

"  Pm  afraid  we  shall  not  go  home  at  the  end  of  ten 
years.  The  Board  is  in  debt,  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
afford  to  go  home." 

^^Kalgan,  Jan.  13 j  1875. 
"  Dear  Sister  Anna  : 

".  .  .  We  have  had  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague 
with  us  since  fall.  Miss  Diament  is  away  in  Peking. 
Mr.  Williams  is  also  away  from  home,  having  gone  with 
Mr.  Goodrich  on  a  preaching  tour.  They  will  be  back 
this  week,  and  we  shall  be  ever  so  glad  to  have  ^  papa ' 
at  home  again.  He  will  not  be  less  glad  to  see  us,  for 
they  have  been  gone  twenty- five  days. 

"  We  did  something  remarkable  in  our  family  history 
yesterday, — went  visiting  !  We  took  tea  at  the  Gulicks' 
and  stayed  for  prayer-meeting.  The  children  were  sleepy 
and  tired,  and  it's  my  opinion  that,  ordinarily,  mothers 
should  keep  their  children  at  home  to  tea.  If  you've 
only  one  chick,  it's  different. 

*^  Pm  making  yeast  from  the  beginning  again,  and  yes- 
terday I  despaired  of  its  coming  to  anything,  and  sent 
down  to  the  Belgian  merchants,  to  see  if  they  had  any 
left  of  what  I  had  given  them.  Mr.  Graesel  wrote, 
*  To-morrow  it  will  cause  us  great  pleasure  to  let  you  have 
some  yeast.  To-day  there  is  none  ready.'  Meanwhile 
my  yeast  has  taken  a  notion  to  ferment,  and  I  don't  need 
his,  but  I'll  send  for  it  all  the  same,  after  such  a  polite 


ITS  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

note.  One  year  we  took  a  jar  of  yeast  down  to  Peking, 
as  no  one  in  the  capital  had  anything  but  salt-rising 
bread! 

"We  had  fish  this  morning  for  breakfast.  It  was 
pretty  good,  but  not  equal  to  those  we  used  to  have  in 
Minnesota.  These  fish  come  from  the  Amoor  Eiver. 
They  have  the  '  Eastern  Asia '  taste,  as  Mr.  Blodget  said 
of  a  pudding  which  was  made  with  Mongol  butter.  I 
am  going  to  have  pheasant  for  dinner  next  Friday,  and 
apple-pie  for  a  luxury.  Mark  and  Mr.  Goodrich  will  be 
back,  and  we  shall  have  the  Gulicks  and  Mr.  Thompson 
here.'^ 

'^ApHl,  1875. 
".  .  .  Little  blind  Timeus  is  dead.  Seven  years 
ago  he  was  found  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick,  having  been 
cast  out  by  his  parents  who  had  no  wish  for  a  blind  baby. 
He  was  a  bright,  happy  little  fellow, — very  fond  of  music. 
Mrs.  Gulick  says,  *  I  had  always  thought  of  him  as  our 
future  chorister,  but  God  wants  him  for  the  heavenly 
choir.'  Before  he  died,  he  gave  away  his  little  treasures 
to  his  playmates,  saying,  '  I  won't  need  them  in  heaven. 
I  am  going  to  Jesus,  and  He  will  give  me  all  I  need.'  " 

^^Kalgauj  June  19 j  1875, 
"  My  Dear  Anna  : 

"  How  the  children  enjoyed  mission  meeting !  On 
Emily's  birthday,  she  and  little  Myron  Hunt  were  crowned 
with  vines  and  flowers,  at  a  feast  made  for  them. 

"  Since  coming  home,  we  have  had  a  siege  of  whooping- 
cough.  I  have  come  to  have  a  great  respect  for  whoop- 
ing-cough as  a  disease,  although  it  seems  to  have  no 
particular  use.  Now  typhus  comes  so  plainly  in  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  health,  that  it  seems  a  just  punish- 
ment. 


^  THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  179 

"  I  don^t  do  much  but  live  from  day  to  day.  I  cannot 
visit,  or  give  medicines  as  I  have  done,  while  my  hands 
are  full  with  my  three  children.  Faces  to  wash,  wet 
aprons  to  change,  stockings  to  mend,  heedless  children 
to  reprove, — (s)  *  cold,^  as  Emmy  says, — so  go  the  days. 

"  I  have  read  '  Middlemarch.^  Would  you  not  like  to 
know  Dorothea  as  a  friend  ?  Mary  Garth,  too  ?  What  a 
good,  comfortable  soul  to  spend  the  day  with  she  would 
be  !  Otherwise  I  should  not  care  to  know  any  of  the 
numberless  people  in  the  novel,  unless  it  were  Lydgate, 
and  I  should  be  too  sorry  for  him  to  have  even  a  word  to 
say. 

"Mr.  Thompson  leaves  for  America  in  the  fall.  He 
has  been  a  good  friend  to  us,  and  we  shall  miss  him. 
The  children  will  be  broken-hearted.^' 

A  glimpse  into  the  home-life  at  Kalgan  is  given  in  a 
letter  written  years  later  by  Mr.  Thompson  to  one  of  the 
children,  and  it  seems  fitting  that  it  should  have  a  place 
here. 

"  I  was  a  fellow-missionary  with  your  father  and  mother 
for  a  little  more  than  six  years  in  the  early  history  of 
Kalgan  as  a  mission  station.  .  .  .  Your  mother's 
home  in  the  Upper  City  was  a  home  of  study  and  cheer- 
ful activity,  of  good  talk,  of  children's  stories — (those 
stories  of  your  father's,  how  much  we  all  enjoyed  them  !) 
of  merry  young  people,  of  thoughtful  kindness,  reverent 
worship,  and  missionary  zeal  and  hopes. 

"Satisfactory  housekeeping  in  our  circumstances,  and 
with  our  assistants,  would  not  go  of  itself,  and  your 
mother,  with  her  training  and  her  conscience,  could  not 
neglect  anything.  That  order,  system,  cleanliness,  and 
the  best  of  wholesome  food  were  secured,  I  can  bear  wit- 
ness. But  your  mother's  mind  was  not  cabined,  con- 
fined, or  bound  in  to  cares  of  this  sort.    She  was  always 


180  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

the  genial,  responsive  hostess,  always  ready  for  higher 
themes.  Your  mother  was  attractive  personally.  I  once 
heard  a  worthy  Scotch  merchant,  his  wife  assenting,  pro- 
nounce her  *  bonny.'  She  loved  music,  and  practiced  it, 
and  she  loved  good  literature  and  appreciated  it.     .     .     . 

^' As  became  one  who  came  from  a  missionary  home, 
she  understood  well  that  a  missionary  must  have  faith 
that  can  stand  firm  against  doubt,  discouragement,  failure 
and  disappointment.  She  had  no  over-sanguine  expec- 
tations of  immediate  and  astonishing  results,  as  young 
missionaries  sometimes  have.  She  took  fully  into  ac- 
count difficulties  and  hindrances  and  for  that  reason  she 
was  a  most  helpful  and  inspiring  counsellor.     .     .     . 

"  It  was  characteristic  of  her  to  have  in  mind  and  on 
her  heart  some  charitable  scheme  which  she  made  suc- 
cessful. When  I  first  knew  her,  she  was  interested  in 
the  orphans  at  home,  whose  cause  was  espoused  by  the 
Orphaned  Advocate  of  New  York,  and  when  I  saw  her  last, 
she  was  interesting  her  friends  in  the  Home  for  Mission- 
aries' Children  in  Oberlin. 

"For  myself  personally,  let  me  say  that  the  recollection 
of  her  friendship  is  a  great  treasure.  Its  faithfulness  and 
Christlikeness  so  confirm  one's  faith  in  its  source  as  to 
make  it  seem  that  in  praising  the  disciple,  we  are  prais- 
ing the  Lord  and  Master  whose  disciple  she  was. 

"  Let  my  tribute  to  your  mother's  faith  and  piety  be 
considered  a  grateful  one." 

'^  Kalgan,  Dec.  6^  1875, 
"My  Dear  Alfred  : 

"Since  my  long  siege  of  fever  I'm  just  beginning 
life  newly  again,  although  I'm  not  quite  so  devoid  of  a 
past  as  I  was  after  recovering  from  typhus.  I  am  three 
months  behind  in  family  discipline,  and  the  children  are 
far  less  tractable  and  pleasant  than  they  were  last  sum- 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  181 

mer.  The  baby  thrives  famously.  She  stays  with  me 
now,  and  likes  the  stir  and  bustle  of  the  children's  play. 
She's  a  remarkable  baby  for  smiles. 

"Etta  is  reading  Irving' s  'Washington,'  'Old-Fash- 
ioned Girl,'  Macaulay's  History,  'The  Merchant  of 
Venice,'  and  much  else.  I  have  borrowed  '  Kenil worth ' 
for  her  to  read  to  me  one  of  these  days  when  we  shall 
find  time.  Our  Emily  bird  is  a  darling  !  But  she's  been 
into  so  much  mischief  to-day  that  I'm  tired  out,  and 
wonder  wearily  what  can  be  done  to  amuse  children  and 
keep  them  from  playing  in  ashes,  water  and  cx)al  hods ! " 

^^  February  23,  1876, 
"Word  has  come  of  Mrs.  Gulick's  death  in  Japan. 
We  have  lost  a  friend.  Unselfish  beyond  others,  she 
was, — enthusiastic,  patient,  and  faithful  unto  death. 
That  our  mission  station  at  Kalgan  was  not  long  ago 
given  up  because  of  its  distance  inland,  and  because  of 
the  weakness  of  our  force,  has  always  been  due  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  T.  Gulick.  They  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
beginning, — the  shouts  and  stones  of  the  noisy  rabble. 
It  was  in  a  great  part  due  to  Mrs.  Gulick's  medical  work 
that  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  made  friendly,  and  the 
way  opened  for  the  Gospel.  We  who  remain  feel  that  a 
sacred  trust  has  been  left  in  our  keeping. '^ 

"  Kalgan,  March  28,  1876, 
"  Dear  Brother  Egbert  : 

"Are  you  surprised  at  my  writing  to  you?  If 
thoughts  could  send  messages,  you  would  not  be  astonished. 
This  would  be  only  one  of  many. 

".  .  .  The  children  have  all  been  unusually  restless 
and  trying  to-day.  I  can  find  work  for  girls,  but  what  to 
do  with  a  boy  passes  my  knowledge.  I  wish  I  could 
whittle  or  whistle  or  do  something  else  that  comes  in  a 


182  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

boy's  line.  Etta  wants  to  read  all  the  time.  It  certainly 
cannot  be  good  for  her. 

" .  .  .  Our  winter's  supply  of  newspapers  is  on 
hand.  We  are  satiated  with  news  and  know  nothing 
about  anything.  I  almost  scorn  to  look  at  a  paper  now, 
which  is  just  as  well,  for  I  need  to  be  at  work  on  chil- 
dren's clothes. 

".  .  .  The  wind  has  been  very  fierce  this  month. 
Bits  of  coal  are  blown  all  over  the  court. 

^*  From  what  father  writes,  he  certainly  is  not  as  well  as 
in  former  years.  I  know  you  and  Cornelia  will  do  all  you 
can  to  help  and  cheer  him,  in  return  for  what  he  has  done 
for  you  and  for  us  all. 

**  My  little  Eussian  is  doing  nicely.  She  is  Ma-rie,  and 
my  baby  is  plain  Mary.  Miss  Eussian  doesn't  wear  any 
clothes  to  speak  of.  She  has  only  a  shirt — the  rest  of  her 
is  wrappings  of  various  sizes  and  kinds. 

^*  Mr.  Holcombe  has  just  translated  ^I  am  Jesus'  little 
lamb,'  and  Mrs.  Collins,  *  Knocking,  knocking,  who  is 
there  ? '  They  are  both  worth  singing.  I  taught  Chang 
Fu  Cheng's  little  boys  to  sing  the  first  last  Sunday,  and 
to-day  taught  their  mother. 

^^  Our  organ  which  Mr.  Thompson  gave  us  is  such  a  fine 
one  that  I  sing  and  play  more  than  for  years, — more  than 
at  any  time  since  coming  to  China. 

"  May  God  bless  you  all." 

(To  her  sister  Anna.) 

^^Kalgan,  June  2^j  1876. 
**  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  after  so  long  an  illness, 
and  a  convalescence  of  six  months,  I  am  now  strong  and 
well  as  I  have  not  been  for  years.  My  castles  have  fallen 
as  to  our  speedy  home-going.  However,  I'm  not  going  to 
buy  any  new  dresses  till  we  go  home, — which  is  safe  to 
say,  as  my  wedding  dress  is  still  existing, — so  is  my 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  183 

brown  which  I  brought  out  with  me.  I  have  a  black 
alpaca  and  a  corn -colored  summer  dress  still  unmade. 
My  one  winter  dress  is  of  green  Kussian  goods.     .     .     . 

^^ .  .  .  Won't  I  go  to  see  you  with  all  the  children ! 
Oh,  that  wood-lot,  and  the  wild  flowers,  and  the  hills ! 
The  grass  will  be  my  chief  joy.  Think  of  it, — could  you 
live  without  grass?  We  have  some,  sparsely  scattered 
over  the  mountains,  but  none  in  our  paved  yards.     .    .    . " 

''Kalgauj  Sept  25,  1876, 
"  My  Dear  Brother  Egbert  : 

^^I  think  the  fact  of  your  having  finished  your 
college  course,  of  itself  entitles  you  to  a  letter  from  me. 

"  .  .  .  Emmy  ^  goes  to  ^cool  ^  now  with  the  other 
children.  Mary  says  a  few  words  in  Chinese.  My  little 
Eussian  protegee  is  doing  nicely.  She  is  fat  and  fair,  and 
can  creep  about  very  fast.  And  oh  !  Mary  has  another 
tooth !  There,  haven't  I  disgusted  you,  most  noble 
Salutatorian  ?  There  is  a  fitness  in  knowing  what  to 
mention  and  what  to  omit,  and  youths  who  are  the  pos- 
sible heroes  of  the  next  novel  shouldn't  be  belittled  by 
having  to  read  about  creeping,  teething  babies.  That  is 
one  reason  why  I  do  not  write  oftener  to  you  and  Cor- 
nelia !    Now  of  course  papa  wouldn't  mind  it !    .     .     ." 

^^Kalgauj  Dec.  19,  1876. 
"Dear  Father: 

"Etta  and  Stephen  are  learning  Christmas  hymns 
these  days.  They  repeat  them  to  us  before  breakfast.  I 
am  still  busy  at  pants  and  jackets  for  Stephen.  I'd  bet- 
ter make  him  a  buckskin  suit  than  so  many  out  of  his 
father's  old  coats  !  I  am  more  and  more  thankful  to  my 
brothers,  Thomas,  Henry  and  Eobert,  for  giving  me  op- 
portunity to  know  something  about  the  making  of  boys' 
clothes. 


184:  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  We  have  ^ent  our  youDg  servant  away.  He  is  prof- 
ligate. There  are  some  good  things  about  him,  and  my 
heart  goes  out  to  him.  I  mean  to  keep  on  praying  and 
believe  the  Lord  will  save  him  yet. 

''  When  the  children  go  off  in  glee  for  an  afternoon^  s 
visit  to  Mrs.  Sprague,  I  hasten  to  use  the  precious  time 
in  teaching  my  women.  One  woman  learns  a  Bible  verse 
a  day,  while  another  attacks  for  the  fifth  time  the  first 
lines  of  *  Jesus  loves  me.'  ^I  am  so  stupid,'  she  says. 
The  sweat  rolls  off  Chang  Fu  Cheng's  face  as  he  pain- 
fully repeats  the  first  verse  of  the  morning  lesson.  His 
bright-eyed  boy  teaches  it  to  him  every  night  by  the  light 
of  a  bit  of  twisted  cotton  in  a  few  spoonfuls  of  linseed  oil. 
When  I  read  over  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  how  grand 
the  ring  of  the  words  !  To  my  heart,  eager  to  teach 
these  souls  newly  called  to  the  kingdom,  the  Chinese 
words  have  a  wonderful  melody, — a  triumphant  move- 
ment that  I  had  almost  forgotten  was  in  the  English. 
But  it  is  there.  Go  out  at  night  alone  under  the  stars, 
and  then  back  to  your  Bible,  and  read  the  glorious  story 
of  Creation.  The  women  say  as  we  read,  *  You  have  told 
us  of  this,  and  we  Icnow  it  is  true.'  Their  faces  shine  with 
a  new  light,  and  you  forget  the  soiled  garments,  and  the 
dullness  and  stupidity  and  think  only  of  the  dark  souls 
upon  whom  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness  is  shining,  and  you 
are  glad." 

''Kalgan,  Feb.  17,  1877, 
"Dear  Little  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"  I  don't  have  time  to  write  these  days.  If  folks 
vnll  be  so  inconsiderate  as  to  be  sick,  why,  there  is  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  pore  myself  stupid  over  doctor-books.  I 
have  one  scurvy  patient,  one  with  dropsy,  and  one  with 
consumption,  besides  three  Russian  babies,  who  are  not 
specially  anything  just  now.     But  babies   are  babies, 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  185 

and  will  cut  teeth,  and  do  otlier  absurd  things.  .  .  . 
This  is  your  birthday.  I  wish  you  as  many  happy  re- 
turns as  God  may  choose.  How  well  I  remember  eighteen 
years  ago.  Mrs.  Williamson  brought  you  out  for  the  big 
sisters  to  see.     ^  She's  a  plump  little  thing/  she  said." 

^'Kalgan,  Dec,  15 j  1877. 
"  My  Dear  Beother  Alfred  : 

"  I  was  glad  of  your  letter,  and  its  evidence  of  ad- 
vancing work  among  the  Dakotas.  It  is  a  good  work. 
May  God  bless  you  all  in  it. 

''Stephen  broke  his  arm,  six  weeks  ago  to-day.  The 
bone  has  grown  together,  but  it  does  not  seem  best  to 
take  off  the  splints  yet.  Everybody  has  been  writing 
kind  letters  to  Stephen,  so  his  cloud  has  had  a  silver 
lining. 

^'  Mr.  Sprague  set  Stephen's  arm.  He  has  had  consid- 
erable practice  lately  as  a  surgeon.  Last  week  he  was 
sent  for,  post  haste,  to  go  to  a  place  seven  miles  distant, 
the  case  a  gun-shot  wound  (bullet  left  in  the  man's  neck, 
— nothing  to  be  done).  He  goes  up,  finds  the  man  who 
shot  the  other  holding  on  for  dear  life  to  a  pumpkin  with 
a  hole  cut  in  it,  pressing  it  over  the  wound,  and  expect- 
ing the  bullet  to  be  drawn  out  by  the  attraction  of  gravi- 
tation, perchance !  Think  what  a  picture  some  artist 
could  make  of  that !  The  man  may  be  holding  the  pump- 
kin there  still,  for  aught  I  know." 

'^  Kalgan,  Jan.  26,  1878. 
''  My  Dear  Father  : 

''What  a  very  windy  day  we  are  having!  The 
dust  blows  in  at  every  crack  and  cranny. 

"I've  just  been  working  buttonholes  in  five  shirts  for 
my  little  Stephen.  This  looks  like  preparing  for  a  home- 
ward journey.     The  children  have  some  very  interesting 


186  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Bible  stories  of  evenings,  nowadays.  Mary  says  nightly, 
*Papa,  tell  ^bout  Hagar,'  and  when  it  comes  to  the  right 
place,  she  does  not  fail  to  say,  ^What  is  it,  mother!' 
'Water,  my  son.' 

^^  Samson's  foxes  are  favorites  with  the  other  children. 
Stephen  and  Emmy  had  a  fine  play  once  or  twice. 
Stephen  would  be  Samson  carrying  off  the  gates  of  Gaza, 
and  Emmy  and  Mary  the  hosts  of  the  Philistines,  and 
then  they  all  would  be  the  foxes  or  jackals,  tied  together, 
running  through  the  fields  of  wheat,  and  lying  to  rest  by 
the  shocks  of  grain  wherever  it  was  harvested. 

*^  I'm  studying  the  Psalms  in  Chinese  whenever  I  have 
time.  The  hymns  we  use  need  a  great  deal  more  study, 
that  I  may  be  familiar  enough  with  them  to  sing  while 
playing  the  tunes.  In  our  Chinese  prayers  we  are  read- 
ing the  Gospels,  having  just  finished  Luke. 

^'The  letters  which  come  to  us  most  frequently  now 
are  Chinese.  They  come  from  our  boys  at  the  Bible 
Training  School  at  Tung  Cho,  and  make  our  hearts  glad." 

"  Kalganj  April  16,  1878, 
"  We  have  a  ti*ee  !  You  might  not  know  it,  were  you 
here,  but  we  do.  You  would  say,  ^  You  have  had  a  nice 
post  put  up  for  your  clothes-line.'  The  Chinese  method 
of  planting  trees  is  to  chop  them  off  at  the  roots,  chop  off 
the  top,  so  far  as  there  are  any  branches,  and  tie  a  wisp 
of  straw  with  a  handful  of  mud,  and,  if  very  liberally 
minded,  a  dirty  dish-rag  around  the  top. 

"I  have  been  laboring  to  get  a  bonaflde  tree.  In  my 
mind's  eye  was  a  graceful  poplar,  branching,  and  about 
to  leaf  out,  with  some  four  or  five  feet  of  root.  I  re- 
sented the  idea  that  I  should  take  a  branch  ignominiously 
cut  off  from  a  large  tree,  and  tie  it  up  with  my  dish-cloth. 
Not  I! 

"The  servant  travelled  here  and  there.     *  Plenty  of 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  187 

branches  and  no  trees.  Won't  sell  a  tree.'  He  goes  off 
ten  miles  with  determination  in  his  eye  :  comes  back  the 
next  day  triumphantly,  with  a  great,  fat  clothes-line 
post, — without  root  or  branch,  and  high  as  our  house. 
*  See  the  tree ! '  I  was  speechless.  My  beautiful  tree, 
six  feet  including  its  delicate  topmost  leaf, — the  tree 
which  Etta  and  Stephen  were  to  remember  all  their  lives 
as  the  oasis  in  their  desert, — was  this  twenty -foot  beam 
to  be  a  substitute  for  that  ? 

"  Well,  so  it  is,  and  I  am  at  last  as  resigned  as  is  pos- 
sible to  my  nature. 

"P.  S.  Chinese  trees  do  sometimes  grow, — in  fact 
very  often.    It  must  be  the  wet  rag  that  causes  it." 

^^Kalgauj  Aug,  16,  1878, 
"  My  Deab  Father  : 

"  Am  I  going  to  let  this  mail  go  without  a  letter 
to  you  ?  It  almost  seems  like  it.  But  I'll  bestir  myself 
while  my  twin  babies  sleep  as  soundly  as  two  kittens. 

"  You  never  saw  a  prouder  mother  than  I  am  now ! 
When  the  two  little  loves  are  smiling  at  me,  and  their 
four  little  hands  are  going,  going,  I  want  to  call  every- 
body to  come  and  see  ! 

^'  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilmour  will  be  in  from  Mongolia  next 
week.  We  have  asked  them  to  stay  with  us.  It  is  lone- 
some without  Miss  Diament.  But  then  there  are  always 
the  amusing  babies !    .    .    ." 

"  August  26,  1878, 
"I  fly  around  after  the  children  these  days  till  my  feet 

are  tired.     But  I  am  thankful  for  the  strength  which 

makes  the  flying  around  possible. 

"We    have    been    reading   Hamlin's    *  Among   the 

Turks,'  and  have  enjoyed  it  greatly.     His  arranging  for 

hospital  washing  for  the  English  soldiers  at  the  time  of 


188  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

the  Crimean  War  was  quite  interesting.  WasMng 
clothes  is  an  interesting  subject  to  me,  especially  now 
that  I  have  two  babies  ! 

^^  Emmy  is  a  real  little  mother,  and  Mary  talks  about 
^  my  this  baby,^  and  ^  my  that  baby.^  She  is  a  common- 
sense,  practical  little  creature,  and  yet  gets  out  some 
quaint  sayings.  One  morning  she  said,  ^  I  haven^t 
washed  my  night-face  yet.'  I  wrote  you  of  her  asking 
for  some  ^  shooting-cookies '  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  She 
calls  the  clothes-line  the  ^  lion,'  and  the  other  day  she 
called  to  Stephen  to  give  her  ^  the  clothes-tiger '  ! 

^^  Our  tree  is  branching  out  nicely.  The  morning-glory 
vines  have  run  far  past  its  top,  and  seem  to  be  looking 
out  for  a  star  to  tie  to.  We  have  four-o'  clocks  and  portu- 
lacas,  balsams  and  roses.  One  of  my  oleanders  is  full  of 
blossoms  and  the  other  two  are  budding.     .     .     .'' 

''Kalgan,  Dec.  6,  1878, 
"  My  Dear  Beothee  Alfred  : 

"  On  this  your  birthday  I  think  of  you  as  repeat- 
ing ^  These  forty  years  the  Lord  hath  led  me,'  with  a 
deeply  thankful  heart. 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  spending  two  weeks  with 
Mrs.  Sprague,  while  Mr.  Sprague  was  away  on  a  tour.  I 
came  home  once  in  a  while, — once  to  make  some  pies, — 
and  Mark  brought  the  children  over  often  to  see  me.  We 
had  a  delightful  time.  I  read  ^  Eomance  of  Missions '  to 
Mrs.  Sprague  in  the  evenings,  and  oh,  how  we  did  enjoy 
the  babies !  They  were  delightful  darlings,  with  nobody 
to  slam  doors,  or  shout  or  scream,  and  waken  them  ! 

"I  am  building  great  air  castles  about  the  visit  home. 
I  hope  we  can  have  a  month  at  least,  all  together  at 
Santee.'' 

(To  her  sister  Cornelia.) 
" .     .     .     I  am  looking  forward  eagerly  to  our  family 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE  189 

meeting.  Let  us  pray  about  it,  that  it  may  be  pleasant 
without  any  marring,  that  it  may  help  us  through  all 
our  lives.  If  we  all  meet  for  this  once,  it  will  most 
probably  be  for  this  once  only.  The  family  circle  is 
not  completed  even  now,  except  as  we  reach  in  beyond 
the  veil.     .     .     ." 


V 

BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA 

The  King  of  Kings  He  rules  on  earth, 
He  sends  us  sorrow  here  or  mirth  j 
He  bears  the  ocean  in  His  hand, 
And  thus  we  meet  on  sea  or  land, 
What  pleases  God. 

Then  let  the  crowd  around  thee  seize 
The  joys  which  for  a  moment  please, 
But  willingly  their  paths  forsake 
And  for  thy  blessed  portion  take 
What  pleases  God. 

Thy  heritage  is  safe  in  heaven, 
There  shall  the  crown  of  joy  be  given. 
There  shalt  thou  hear  and  see  and  know 
As  thou  couldst  never  here  below 
What  pleases  God. 

— Paul  Gerhardt. 

IN  May,  1879,  the  homeward  journey  was  begun.    As 
a  parting  gift,  the  Chinese  Christians  at  Kalgan 
presented  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  with  a  memorial 
scroll,  whose  quaint  inscription  reads  as  follows  : — 

**  God  pitied  the  world,  led  astray  by  the  devil, 
Christ,  for  man,  struck  the  serpent's  head. 

"  Jesus  sent  disciples  into  the  whole  world  to  preach ; 
Paul  passed  over  the  sea  to  Europe. 

"  England,  France,  Prussia,  Russia  and  America 
Do  not  endure  oppression,  but  have  liberty. 
190 


BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA  191 

"  The  Chnroh,  for  the  Lord,  saves  men. 
Teacher  Williams  preaches,  and  he  and  his  wife  sing. 

**  Leaving  America,  more  than  30,000  li, 
Came    to  the  Middle  Flowery,   staying  twelve  springs  and 
autumns. 

"At  Kalgan  and  Hsuen  Hua  always; 
Going  once  to  Pao  An,  many  times  to  Yu  Cho, 

"  Going  north  to  Mongolia,  going  south 
To  Peking,  and  through  the  Nank'ou  Pass, 

"  He  baptized  ten  church  friends, 
Constantly  entreating  Jesus. 

"  He  possesses  great  kindness  and  patience, 
And  is  very  merciful.  ' 

"  With  six  children 
They  are  very  much  like  Noah  entering  the  Ark. 

"  May  the  Lord  give  you  a  returning  road, 
You  will  then  have  gone  around  the  globe. 

"  You  are  like  the  husbandman,  plowing  and  sowing, 
The  Lord  will  surely  send  reapers  to  reap  the  harvests." 

For  the  Eiggs  family  gathering,  Isabella  wrote  a  sketcli 
of  the  journey  homeward. 

*'Ding  lang,  ding  lang,  ding  lang !  Hear  the  bells. 
The  litters  are  packed,  the  good-byes  spoken.  Thirteen 
years  of  work  in  sorrow  and  in  joy  are  over.  *  Good-bye, 
we  will  pray  for  you  all ;  do  not  forget  us.^ 

"Down  the  narrow  street,  past  the  closely  crowded 
houses  of  more  crowded  inmates,  beyond  the  pale  green 
of  the  gardens,  on  the  stony  plain,  and  our  long  journey 
is  begun. 

"Eight  hours,  and  the  first  inn  is  reached,  and  we  had 
made  a  twenty-five-mile-stage.  Over  rocks  and  river, 
fertile  lake  bed,  desert  plain,  and  through  mountain 
gorge,  we  creep  our  way,  till,  on  the  fifth  day,  the  mass- 


192  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ive  walls  of  Peking  loom  up  before  us.  Here  there  are 
cordial  greetings  from  warm  hearts,  and  willing  hands 
stretched  out  to  help.  Best  of  all  is  the  inspiration  of 
mission  meeting,  with  its  glad,  good  news  from  Shantung 
Province. 

"  By  cart,  and  by  canal  boat,  again  away.  At  Tientsin 
we  ride  by  starlight  in  jinrikishas  to  the  steamer.  How 
huge  the  monster  !  How  broad  seems  the  river,  covered 
here  and  yonder,  and  again  yonder,  with  fleets  of  boats  ! 
We  ensconce  ourselves  in  the  assigned  staterooms,  and 
little  Anna's  foster-mother  keeps  a  vigil  by  the  child  so 
soon  to  be  hers  no  more.      '  Farewell,  farewell.' 

**  Gray  morning  comes,  and  the  ponderous  engine  be- 
gins his  work.  We  move  past  boats,  ships,  steamers, 
past  the  fort  at  Taku,  out  on  the  open  sea.  No  one  sings, 
^  A  life  on  the  ocean  wave,'  or  *  Murmuring  sea,'  for  our 
'  day  of  youth  went  yesterday.'  The  enthusiasm  of  early 
years  is  gone.  Instead,  I  read  reverently  the  107th 
Psalm,  verses  23-31.  Then  with  the  strong,  glad,  spray- 
laden  breeze  on  one's  face,  it  is  fitting  to  read,  '  The  Lord 
on  high  is  mightier  than  the  noise  of  many  waters,  yea, 
than  the  waves  of  the  sea.'  'Let  the  sea  roar,  and  the 
fullness  thereof.  Let  the  floods  clap  their  hands  .  .  . 
before  the  Lord.'  '  The  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it.' 
*  The  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches  :  so  is  this  great  and  wide 
sea.  There  go  the  ships  ;  there  is  that  leviathan  whom 
Thou  hast  made  to  play  therein.' 

''Five  days,  and  we  steam  up  through  the  low,  flat, 
fertile  shores  of  Woo  Sung  River  to  Shanghai. 

"  Ho  for  the  land  of  the  rising  sun  !  Two  days  we  sail 
over  a  silver  sea,  yonder  is  I^agasaki,  and  now  a  heavy 
rain  reminds  us  that  this  is  Japan.  On  through  the  In- 
land Sea.  How  surpassingly  beautiful  are  the  green  hills 
and  mountains  on  every  side. 

"  At  Kobe  we  receive  a  delightful  welcome  from  Mr, 


BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA  193 

Orramel  Gulick^s  family,  and  on  the  morrow  we  meet 
our  former  co-laborer  in  the  Kalgan  work,  Eev.  John  T. 
Gulick.  Ten  days  of  rest,  and  our  little  Anna  is  herself 
again.  She  is  round  and  fair  and  sweet,  and  every  one 
laughingly  says  she  is  more  like  our  hostess  than  like  me. 

"  Again  away,  in  a  floating  palace,  fitly  named  City  of 
ToMo.  We  glide  out  of  sight  of  Japan,  with  hearts 
strangely  stirred  by  God's  work  in  that  land. 

^^  One  sail  after  another  disappears,  until  we  are  alone 
on  the  great  ocean.     Water,  water,  water  everywhere. 

"  Our  days  are  all  alike.  Constant  care  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  thoughts  of  home  and  beloved  ones  keep  hand 
and  heart  busy.  The  events  of  each  day  are  breakfast, 
tif&n,  and  dinner,  daintily  prepared,  and  faultlessly 
served  by  deft  and  noiseless  waiters.  We  think  it  a 
pleasant  variety  when  a  stiff  breeze  makes  the  waves  run 
high.  The  table  racks  are  on,  yet  once  and  again,  a 
glass  of  water,  or  a  plate  of  soup  goes  over.  We  turn  our 
plates  at  the  proper  angle,  when  the  long  roll  begins,  and 
unconcernedly  go  on. 

^'  One  day  of  waves  mountain  high,  which  sweep  us  on 
to  our  desired  haven.  On  the  eighteenth  day  we  see  the 
shore  of  beautiful  America.  How  the  heart  beats  !  So 
soon  to  see  father,  brothers  and  sisters  !  Thank  God. 
Aye,  thank  Him,  too,  for  the  manifold  mercies  of  our 
journey. 

"  How  strange  and  yet  familiar  are  the  sights  and  sounds 
of  San  Francisco.  The  children's  eyes  shine  as  they  plan 
and  execute  raids  on  a  toy  store. 

"  There  is  yet  the  land  journey  of  thousands  of  miles. 
By  night  and  by  day  we  speed  on  ;  across  gorge,  through 
tunnel  and  snow-shed  over  the  alkali  plains,  over  fertile 
fields,  to  Omaha. 

"At  last  we  arrive  in  Yankton,  and  a  cheery  voice 
makes  weary  hearts  glad.     *I  am  Mr.    Ward.     Your 


194  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

brother  Henry  is  here.'  Ah,  is  that  Henry  I  How  lie 
has  changed  from  boyhood  to  manhood  ! 

'^  ^  Over  the  hills  and  far  away.'  Here  we  are  !  How 
beautiful  the  mission  houses  look  !  And  the  dear  familiar 
faces  !  Eest  and  home  at  last  for  a  little  while.  *  For 
here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but  we  seek  one  to 
come.'  " 

The  two  years  spent  on  furlough  were  like  a  rest  be- 
neath the  palms  of  Elim.  The  family  reunion  held  at 
Santee,  Nebraska,  on  mission  ground,  was  a  memorable 
one.  Later  a  gathering  of  the  Christian  Indians  at  the 
Good  Will  Mission  was  an  inspiration.  Isabella  wrote 
to  her  sister  Cornelia : — 

"  We  are  right  in  the  midst  of  it !  Martha  had  a 
family  of  twenty-one  yesterday.  ...  I  went  to  hear 
papa  talk  about  the  Bible  to  the  Dakota  preachers.  Do 
take  care  of  our  precious  father  when  he  is  at  home 
again.  You  have  him  in  charge  for  all  of  us.  You  can 
fulfill  our  lack  of  service  to  him.  I  do  not  think  he  will 
stay  long  on  earth.  Some  of  these  across-country  trips 
will  be  the  close  of  this  life  spent  in  the  service  of  Christ." 

In  1880,  Lane  Seminary  celebrated  its  semi-centennial, 
and  The  Western  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  so  that 
there  were  delightful  reunions  with  classmates  and  friends. 
But  China  was  not  forgotten.  Wherever  they  went,  the 
churches  were  eager  to  hear  of  their  work.  It  was  an 
especial  pleasure  to  speak  in  the  old  home  church  at 
St.  Anthony,  and  among  the  friends  in  Beloit.  How  full 
of  blessed  memories  for  the  years  to  come  were  the  days 
spent  in  Beloit  with  her  father.     She  wrote  in  1880 : — 

"  I  joy  and  rejoice  in  this  spring.  It  seems  as  if  I  had 
never  known  one  spring  in  China  !  The  roses  which  our 
mother  planted  are  beginning  to  bloom."  And  again : — 
"  How  many  things  we  have  to  be  thankful  for,  during 
this  short,  precious,  wonderful  visit  at  home  ! "     But  the 


BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA  195 

shadow  of  parting  from  her  children,  as  well  as  from  the 
dear  father,  shows  in  the  letters  of  the  last  months  in 
America.  From  a  missionary  gathering  in  Minneapolis, 
she  wrote  to  her  boy  Stephen  : — ^'I  remembered  you  on 
your  birthday,  and  would  have  been  so  glad  to  have 
given  you  ten  kisses.  On  the  next  twenty-second  of 
August,  papa  and  mamma  will  be  far  away.'^  On  the 
last  day  of  January,  1881,  in  a  letter  to  her  sister,  she 
wrote  : — *'  To-morrow  night  at  this  time  I  shall  have  bid 
Etta  and  Stephen  good-bye.  If  I  ever  see  them  again, 
they  will  be  grown  up.  God  will  help  me.  I  wonder 
sometimes  how  I  can  do  it,  but  God  makes  the  way  as 
easy  as  possible. 

*^I  have  not  written  many  good-bye  letters.  I  hegiUj 
and  break  right  off^  and  go  to  find  some  little  thing  to  do 
for  one  or  the  other  child.  I  don't  mind  how  many  steps 
I  take  for  them.     .     .     .'^ 

(From  Beloit,  on  February  second.) 
*^It  is  now  thirty  hours  since  I  bid  my  dear  children 
good-bye.     I  could  almost  stay  from  China,  but  not  quite, 
thank  God.     He  comforts  me.'' 

From  San  Francisco  she  wrote  to  her  father: — "We 
sail  on  the  Belgic.  Many  have  been  in  to  bid  us  good- 
bye. It  is  so  pleasant  to  see  some  friendly  faces  before 
sailing  out  on  the  great  sea.  ...  I  say  good-bye  to 
you, — to  each  one.     Pray  for  us  ! " 

The  journey  to  China  was  afterwards  recalled  in  a  little 
story  written  for  her  children  : — 

What  Doll  Ellie  Told  Me 

I  never  willingly  think  of  the  time  of  my  birth.  No 
doll  remembers,  without  a  shudder,  the  glue,  the  bits  of 
wire,  the  sawdust,  or  the  gleaming  needle  darting  through 
and  through  its  skin.     Passing  over  such  memories  I 


196  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

will  begiu  with  my  life  in  tlie  store.  It  would  have  been 
delightful  there,  with  the  busy  clerks,  and  so  many 
pleasant  ladies  passing  in  and  out,  if  they  had  only 
known  how  dolls  felt  about  hanging  up  undressed.  The 
room  was  warm,  and  we  did  not  shiver,  but  oh,  how  un- 
pleasant it  was  to  be  liung  in  a  row  with  such  short,  scant 
garments  on ! 

One  day  a  sleigh  drove  up,  and  the  loveliest  little 
lady  you  ever  saw  stepped  out.  She  looked  at  us  all  and 
pointed  to  me.  My  heart  beat  high  with  hope.  ^*  How 
much  is  that  one?  ^'  she  said  in  so  sweet  a  voice  that  all 
the  dolls  turned  around  to  listen.  Their  cheeks  grew 
pale  with  disappointment  when  the  clerk  took  me  down 
and  wrapped  me  up. 

How  the  bells  jingled  as  we  flew  over  the  snow !  I 
peeped  through  a  tiny  hole  in  the  wrapping-paper,  and 
the  cold  almost  took  away  my  breath.  When  we  stopped, 
I  was  carried  into  a  House  Beautiful.  Somebody  opened 
the  wrapper  quickly.  ^'Let  me  see  it,  aunty!  How 
pretty!  Won't  Emily  be  surprised?  Dolly,  you  are 
going  to  take  a  long  journey, — half  round  the  world  !  " 
Miss  Ellie  ran  down-stairs,  and  I  saw  the  Lovely  Lady's 
fingers  flying  fast  over  dainty  garments.  Ere  long  the 
whole  suit  was  done,  and  Miss  Ellie  came  injustasthe 
Lovely  Lady  had  finished  dressing  me.  ''Why,  aunty, 
how  nice  !  What  a  pretty  cloak  she  has  !  May  I  show 
her  to  mamma  ?  "  and  off  she  danced  with  me. 

Then  the  Lovely  Lady  wrote  a  letter  and  put  me  into 
a  dear  little  travelling-bag,  and  I  heard  the  bells  jingle 
again.  When  they  stopped,  I  was  carried  into  a  house 
which  was  very  full  of  children.  Somebody  read,  ''For 
Emily  Williams,"  and  gave  me  to  a  pale  little  girl  who 
looked  as  if  she  had  been  sick.  How  happy  the  little 
girl  was ! 

The  children's  papa  and  mamma  were  ever  so  busy 


BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA  197 

packing  lip  to  go  to  China.  One  day  the  four  little  girls 
were  hooded  and  cloaked  and  mittened,  and  taken  to  the 
train.  We  dolls  went  along  with  them,  of  course.  It 
isn't  every  doll  who  has  the  chance  to  see  so  much  of  the 
world,  or  to  go  as  far  as  China  !  People  were  always 
saying  good-bye,  and  when  a  beautiful,  white-haired  old 
man  kissed  the  children  and  their  mother,  she  whispered, 
"  It  is  for  the  last  time  here.'' 

Travelling  wasn't  so  nice  as  we  thought  it  would  be. 
I  did  very  well,  having  my  bag  to  hide  in  when  we 
changed  cars,  but  the  other  dolls  were  in  a  perpetual 
worry  lest  they  should  be  undressed  when  the  summons 
came,  and  should  be  obliged  to  leave  all  their  clothes 
behind. 

The  little  girls'  papa  and  mamma  did  not  read  papers 
and  books  much,  but  were  busy  watching  the  children  j 
and  if  you  had  seen  how  merry  and  how  restless  they 
were,  you  would  think  they  needed  watching,  especially 
the  twins.  When  we  stopped,  people  were  very  kind  to 
our  little  mammas.  Sometimes  there  were  tears  and 
sometimes  smiles,  and  some  one  was  always  saying  good- 
bye. 

We  rode  on  and  on  in  the  cars  till  we  dolls  thought 
we  should  reach  China  very  soon.  Two  of  the  little 
mammas  thought  so  too.  ^^  Is  dis  Tina  ?  Is  dis  Tina  !  " 
they  said.  There  were  more  tears  and  smiles  but  not 
many  people  now  to  say  good-bye. 

At  last  we  went  on  a  great  ship.  It  was  damp  and 
cold  at  sea,  and  our  little  mammas  were  all  seasick.  We 
went  to  bed,  and  slept,  and  waked,  and  sang  "Eocked 
in  the  Cradle  of  the  Deep,"  but  Dumpling,  one  of  the 
twins'  dolls,  wouldn't  sing  the  trills  right,  and  her  sister 
Cecilia  didn't  play  the  accompaniment  in  time.  Arthura 
told  her  that,  considering  her  name,  better  music  was  to 
be  expected  of  her,  and  she  was  vexed,  and  finally  we 


198  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

wouldn^t  speak  to  each  other.  If  we  didn't  have  a  mis- 
erable time  ! 

By  and  by  the  little  girls  were  well  and  running 
about,  balancing  first  on  one  foot,  and  then  on  the  other, 
like  chickens.  They  played  with  us  a  great  deal,  but 
didn't  let  us  go  on  deck,  lest  the  sea  water  spoil  our 
travelling  suits.  I  had  a  peep  at  the  waves  through  a 
port-hole  once, — oh,  they  were  grand !  The  two  little 
dolls  used  to  be  so  frightened  when  the  waves  came  over 
the  ship  with  a  heavy  jar,  as  if  about  to  send  us  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean. 

So  long  on  the  water !  The  confinement  was  telling 
sadly  on  our  health,  and  Dumpling's  sister  Cecilia  died 
from  a  dreadful  fall.  I^ellie  had  her  head  shattered  by 
falling  from  her  berth,  but  our  grandmother  gathered  up 
the  pieces  and  mended  her  with  '^  mucilage  glue  and 
cement,"  and  in  a  week  the  child  was  as  lively  as  ever. 

You  may  be  sure  I  was  glad  to  go  ashore  at  Yoko- 
hama. It  was  good  to  be  on  land  once  more,  and  we  were 
never  tired  of  watching  the  ships  in  the  harbor,  or  the 
queer  Japanese.  No  one  took  us  dolls  out  to  see  the 
sights,  but  the  little  girls  rode  out  in  jinrikishas  with  two 
kind  friends  who  had  been  very  good  to  them  all  through 
the  long  voyage.  When  they  came  back,  they  were  so 
merry  and  excited  that  all  talked  at  once,  and  they  had 
boxes  of  Japanese  dolls  and  toys.  Oh,  how  jealous  we 
were  of  those  dolls.  Our  mammas  let  us  lie  under  the 
sofa,  and  there,  they  were  petting  those  deformed  crea- 
tures !  I  made  up  my  mind  to  cry  all  the  pink  off  my 
cheeks  !  They  crowded  me  in  one  trunk  and  then  in 
another,  and  I  didn't  get  a  breath  of  air  until  we  reached 
Shanghai.  From  Shanghai  we  journeyed  on  and  on.  At 
last  we  stopped,  and  I  was  full  of  excitement.  But  when 
the  trunk  lid  was  opened,  I  heard  some  one  say,  ^*  It's  a 
clear  case, — measles  without    doubt!"    The  room  was 


BY  LAND  AND  BY  SEA  199 

so  dark  that  I  turned  over  and  slept  a  week  or  two.  I 
did  think  of  having  measles  to  spite  them,  but  feared 
that  they  would  know  nothing  about  it,  and  if  they  did, 
they  would  take  no  pains  to  read  my  favorite  authors  to 
me,  but  would  be  sure  to  choose  some  trifling  stuff,  sure 
to  suit  a  little  creature  like  Dumpling,  but  such  as  a  doll 
of  my  education  utterly  scorns. 

What  a  disappointment  it  was  to  be  locked  up  in  a 
trunk, — so  inconsiderate, — when  I  had  arranged  for  a 
regular  series  of  letters  to  the  Dolls'  Bazar  !  I  had  es- 
pecially promised  to  give  the  latest  notes  from  Tokio  and 
Peking  in  respect  to  ladies'  styles,  and  the  freshest  news 
in  art,  as  for  example,  which  leg  the  Japanese  storks  are 
expected  to  hold  up  for  the  next  year  or  two,  and  exactly 
how  many  spears  of  grass  may  surround  the  pensive  and 
esthetic  cat  tail.  There  was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  to 
imagine  the  whole  thing,  and  if  the  Chinese  and  Japanese 
fashions  are  not  the  same  on  both  sides  of  the  Pacific,  you 
will  know  the  reason  why. 

Finally,  after  a  five  days'  journey,  we  reached  the 
place  that  Emily  called  home.  I  did  not  admire  her  taste 
in  selecting  a  home  where  there  are  no  trees,  and  no  flowers 
but  morning-glories.  Yet  if  she  will  love  me,  I  will  for- 
give her,  and  shall  be  happy  here.  One  thing  has  com- 
forted me,  and  that  is  that  all  those  Japanese  dolls  died 
long  ago. 

Ellie  Doll  Willla.ms, 
Per  amauueusls. 


VI 

IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT 

"  Ife  is  only  a  poor  sort  of  happiness  that  could  ever  come  by  caring 
very  much  about  our  own  narrow  pleasures.  We  can  only  have  the 
highest  happiness  by  having  wide  thoughts,  and  much  feeling  for  the 
rest  of  the  world  as  well  as  ourselves ;  and  this  sort  of  happiness  often 
brings  so  much  pain  with  it  that  we  can  only  tell  it  from  pain  by  its 
being  what  we  would  choose  before  everything  else,  because  our  souls 
see  it  is  good." — George  Eliot. 

^^  Kdlgauj  June  7,  188 L 
"My  Dear  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"  In  the  vortex  of  beginning  housekeeping,  I  must 
yet  write  a  few  words  to  some  one  of  you.  .  .  .  We 
are  all  glad  to  be  back  in  Kalgan,  and  our  Chinese 
friends  were  glad  to  see  us.  The  missionaries  here  are 
all  new  people, — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eoberts,  Dr.  Murdock  and 
Miss  Garretson.  Dr.  Murdock  is  very  enthusiastic  in  her 
profession,  and  will  surely  do  a  good  work  for  God.  .  .  . 
"We  have  been  here  over  a  week.  Trunks  not  un- 
packed,— no  place  to  put  things  !  Although  I  have  no 
room  yet  to  store  away  what  we  have,  I  wish  we  had  got 
twice  as  many  shoes  for  the  children  !  They  will  be  out 
in  a  year's  time.     Feet  grow  faster  on  the  march ! " 

^^Kdlgan,  July  9,  1881, 
"  My  Dear  Anna  : 

"We  are  very  happy  here  in  many  things.  Dr. 
Murdock' s  energy,  earnestness  and  skill  are  a  great  bless- 
ing.   When  it  is  necessary,  these  days,  I  leave  the  babies  in 

200 


IN  LABOES  MORE  ABUNDANT         201 

Emily's  and  Mary's  care,  and  interpret  for  the  doctor.  I 
like  to  interpret ;  it  is  in  my  line  of  past  work,  so  that 
I'm  seldom  at  loss,  and  the  test  of  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage is  exhilarating.  I  must  say  that  the  various  ulcers 
and  eye  diseases  are  anything  but  enlivening,  yet  looking 
at  them  from  a  professional  point  of  view,  one  forgets 
that,  especially  when  there  is  a  triumphal  improvement. 
There  have  been  between  600  and  700  treatments  in  the 
last  seven  weeks. 

"  Fu  Yuan  and  his  wife  are  very  grateful  over  the  safe 
arrival  of  their  boy.  She  said  yesterday,  '  F'usztai  fu 
tsai  chi  ?i,  7nei  la  woa  P  ('If  there  had  been  no  doctor  here, 
there  would  be  no  me  ! ')  Dr.  Murdock  pointed  to  me, 
and  Fu  Yuan  replied  politely,  ^  You  twohonorables.' 

*'  Tsai  Fu  Yuan  grows  in  love  to  his  Saviour.  I  am  so 
glad^  for  I  love  him  so  much,  and  his  wife  for  his  sake, 
and  both  of  them  for  Jesus'  sake.  Fu  Yuan  has  been 
teaching  both  Mr.  Williams  and  myself  every  morning 
from  nine  or  ten  until  twelve.  It  has  been  such  an  op- 
portunity for  me  to  give  him  some  of  the  precious  things 
of  the  Bible  which  God  has  given  me.  I  plan  to  teach 
him  and  Lu  Yuan  a  little  on  the  organ.  They  both  wish 
it  very  much,  and  I  think  I  can  gain  influence  over  Lu 
Yuan  in  that  way.  When  I  said  laughingly  that  I  could 
not  teach  any  one  who  had  long  finger  nails,  Fu  Yuan 
came  back  in  the  afternoon,  minus  those  signs  of  gentility. 
I  couldn't  refuse  after  that,  it  was  such  a  surprise  !  Don't 
I  wish  I  could  prevent  Sala's  foot-binding  as  easily !  " 

^' July  nth. 
"The  very  same  day  that  I  wrote  the  last  sentence, 
Sala's  feet  were  unbound  !  She  came  to  me  Sunday  morn- 
ing with  twinkling  eyes,  and  said,  'My  papa  has  let 
my  feet  loose  ! '  I  had  talked  to  her  mother  and  father 
on  Friday,  speaking  of  the  sin  of  deforming  the  bodies 


202  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

given  us  by  God,  and  how  it  would  be  an  especial  sin  for 
them,  since  they  knew  it  to  be  wrong  ; — but  I  had  not 
quite  faith  enough  to  expect  the  answer  so  soon.  That 
afternoon  I  saw  the  poor,  deformed  Chinese  foot  for  the 
first  time.     How  pitiful  it  is ! " 

^^Kalgauj  July  26^  1881, 
"Deae  Sister  Cornelia  : 

*'I  have  been  so  thankful  over  that  red  darning 
cotton  that  I  must  write  you  a  letter.  The  mail  is  to  go 
up  to  the  Russian  postmaster  this  evening  before  dark. 
It  is  twenty  minutes  to  meeting  time, —Chinese  Wednes- 
day prayer-meeting. 

"We  had  all  of  the  station  here  to  tea  last  night.  No 
cake,  but  excellent  yeast  rolls  or  biscuit,  apricot  jam, 
and  a  gelatine  royal  cream.  Our  babies  behaved  shock- 
ingly at  the  table.  I  think  I'll  never  invite  anybody 
again ! 

'  *  Dear  little  Anna  is  asleep.  One  is  so  safe  about  chil- 
dren when  they  are  asleep.  That  is  one  of  MacDonald's 
thoughts,  which  I  have  often  had.     .     .     . 

"Prayer- meeting  is  over.  Mr.  Williams'  remarks 
were  very  good, — well  prepared.  Some  of  the  Russians 
are  going  to  let  the  doctor  teach  them  English,  the  Gospel 
of  John.     We  hope  good  may  result. 

"Love  to  dear,  dear  father,  to  mother  and  the  rest. 
"  Your  affectionate  sister, 

"Isabella." 

^^Kdlgan,  Aug,  3,  1881, 
"MyDeae  Anna: 

" .  .  .  We  have  Dr.  Murdock  and  Miss  Garret- 
son  boarding  with  us,  and  find  it  very  pleasant.  I  was  too 
busy  for  a  while  to  breathe  or  sleep,  but  can  take  time 
for  both  now.    The  children  are  well,  but  the  heat  and 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         203 

impurities  of  city  air  begin  to  tell  on  us  all.  Tsai  Fu 
Yuan  took  Emily,  Mary,  and  his  little  Sala  up  the  moun- 
tain for  flowers  last  evening.  They  came  back  merrily, 
having  had  quite  a  climb. 

"  We  have  an  oleander  in  beautiful  bloom.  Our  other 
flowers  are  not  worth  much  except  for  the  twins  to  pick. 
My  one  rose-bush  and  the  scarlet  geranium  are  only  good 
for  promises,  as  yet. 

"I  want  to  see  Etta  and  Stephen,  oh,  so  much,  these 
days.    .    .     ." 

^^  August  6(h, 
"  I  have  been  reading  with  much  refreshment  the  Mem- 
oirs of  Frances  Ridley  Havergal.  Being  dead,  she  yet 
speaks,  urging  me  by  her  example  to  fresh  Bible  study. 
I  covet  the  ability  to  commit  verses  easily  in  Chinese. 
Those  I  do  know  are  so  wonderfully  useful. 

*^It  makes  us  glad  to  come  back  and  find  how  much 
real  progress  has  been  made  in  these  two  years.  Miss  Dia- 
ment  had  a  beautiful  work  for  our  Christian  women  and 
girls  while  we  were  gone.  They  were  gathered  together 
from  the  country  round  about,  and  many  brought  their  chil- 
dren with  them,  so  our  outer  court  was  as  populous  as 
most  Chinese  establishments.  I  am  seeing  some  of  the 
fruits  of  Miss  Diament^s  work,  and  the  seeds  are  being 
planted  over  and  over  again.  Most  of  the  women  have 
gone  back  to  their  homes  to  be  seed-sowers  there.  ^^ 

'^  November  17,  1881. 
**.  .  .  We  have  been  papering  our  sitting-room, 
and  have  put  down  the  bedroom  carpet.  Had  two  plated 
knives  and  my  last  pair  of  scissors  stolen  by  the  paperers, 
I  suppose.  I  have  still  a  pair  of  shears  and  Emily ^s 
blunt  scissors  to  console  me.  ^  Lay  not  up  your  treasures 
on  earth !  ^ 


204  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  I  have  nice  yeast  made  without  any  to  start  with,  and 
have  good  bread,  as  I  do  not  leave  it  for  our  servant, 
but  always  bake  it  myself.  Yesterday  a  crowd  of  women 
came  in  while  I  was  mixing  my  bread.  They  came  into 
the  kitchen,  and  I  talked  with  them  as  I  worked.  I 
think  they  will  come  again  j  perhaps  to  our  Sabbath 
meeting.     .     .     ." 

"  Kalgavij  Dec,  4,  1881. 
*^  My  Dear  Father  : 

^^  .  .  I  am  reading  in  First  Samuel  with  Tsai 
Fu  Yuan  these  days.  The  friendship  of  David  and  Jona- 
than was  our  lesson  yesterday.  The  beautiful  story  is  for 
all  time,  and  perhaps  for  eternity  too.  We  read  the 
Psalms  in  connection  with  the  history  as  far  as  possible. 
*' Daisy  says,  ^Wi'  'oo  div  we  itta  tins  some  tash 
(cash) !  ^  So  the  question  of  filthy  lucre  is  up  in  their 
small  heads,  you  see.  Emily  and  Mary  have  been  earning 
money  for  Christmas  purchases.  Anna's  exploit  in  words 
is  to  talk  about '  Pi-gwim's  Pogwims.'  They  love  to  hear 
the  story  of  Christian  and  Christiana  from  their  father. 
.  .  .  Mary  has  turned  out  a  second  Etta.  She  read 
six  chapters  in  Revelation  in  one  day,  and  has  now  read 
the  whole.  She  did  not  know  all  her  letters  when  we  left 
America  eight  months  ago.     .     .     ." 

^^  December  5,  1881. 

**  I  have  just  added  something  to  a  note  to  Miss  Porter, 
which  you  may  like  to  see. 

^*I  have  been  enjoying  some  of  the  Psalms,  and  am 
wishing  that  I  knew  when  David  wrote  the  eighth.  Was 
it  while  he  kept  the  sheep,  and  was  it  the  far-off  voice  of 
children  singing  their  evening  hymn,  which  made  him 
say,  ^  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings,  Thou  hast 
perfected  praise'  ?    (You  see  I  quote  it  as  Jesus  did.) 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  205 

Our  Chinese  is,  ^  Thou  hast  caused  babes  and  sucklings  ex- 
ceedingly to  praise.' 

''Or  was  it  written  after  pacing  the  roof  of  his  house 
in  Jerusalem,  and  were  they  Bathsheba's  boys  who  were 
singing  one  of  their  father's  songs  ?  Those  other  women 
didn't  teach  their  sons  many  Psalms,  I'm  thinking.  No, 
it  was  poor,  sorrowful,  forgiven  Bathsheba,  who  walked 
softly  before  God,  and  led  Solomon  and  his  brothers  in 
the  way  of  peace. 

' '  Poor  David !  Do  you  wonder  at  his  sorrowful  laments, 
when,  besides  all  his  enemies,  he  had  six  wives  before 
leaving  Hebron  ?  Michel  and  Bathsheba  made  eight,  and 
there  were  more  yet,  too  numerous  to  mention,  in  the 
palace  at  Jerusalem.  Think  how  Ahinoam  and  Maachah 
and  Haggith  used  to  glare  at  each  other  when  their  boys 
fought,  and  David  had  to  stop  right  in  the  middle  of  a 
Psalm,  and  say,  'Lads,  don't  tease  Adonijah'  ! " 

^^  December  6th. 

"  My  carpet  is  nearly  ready  to  put  down.  It  has  taken 
one  woman  five  days,  and  another  sewed  one  day.  You 
might  think  I  would  fly  with  nervousness,  but  I  don't.  I 
cut  the  carpet  myself,  but  was  not  at  all  able  to  sew  on  it, 
just  getting  over  my  siege.  Besides  there  was  mending  to 
do,  and  indeed  it  has  been  done  with  much  backache  and 
despondency. 

"Our  carpet  is  very  pretty.  When  we  get  it  down, 
looking  at  it,  and  at  the  elaborate  carvings  of  the  doors  and 
panels,  if  we  only  had  some  luxurious  chairs,  I  am  sure 
you  would  think,  '  Isabella  lives  in  quite  a  grand  house  ! ' 
We  are  glad  of  this  large  room.  It  is  our  only  one,  and  is 
none  too  large,  being  used  for  Chinese  meetings  and  Sab- 
bath services.  It  is  likewise  none  too  large  for  air,  when 
we  have  twenty  to  forty  Chinese  women  in  visiting! 
Moreover  our  sitting-room  is  only  grand  when  in  order  I 


206  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

It  is  far  from  fine  when  the  chairs  are  prostrate,  the 
blocks  scattered  around,  and  paper  cuttings  everywhere ! 
My  fight  for  neatness  and  order  is  truly  perpetual. 

*' Excepting  this  room,  our  other  rooms  are  small 
enough.  Yet  all  do  very  well  for  our  needs.  I  do  not 
want  better.  ^  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  have  followed 
me  all  the  days  of  my  life.'  " 

"  Kdlgan,  Jan.  27,  1882, 
"  Deae  Stephen  : 

"  I  think  about  you  so  much  that  I  must  write  to 
you  to-day.  I  think  so  much  about  the  years  that  you 
were  with  us.  I  remember  how  I  gave  you  to  God  from 
your  earliest  existence.  I  think  how  much  I  loved  you 
when  you  were  a  baby,  and  how  kind  everybody  was  to 
you.  Mr.  Thompson,  dear  Mr.  Hunt  whose  place  in  our 
hearts  nobody  can  ever  fill ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chapin,  Miss 
Porter,  and  most  of  all,  Mrs.  Gulick,  Miss  Diament,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague.  Think  how  many  walks  Mr. 
Sprague  took  with  you  and  Etta,  climbing  the  mountains 
for  flowers  or  minerals.  Think  how  much  happiness 
came  into  your  lives  through  Mrs.  Sprague' s  frequent  in- 
vitations to  their  home. 

"Then  what  could  we  have  done  when  getting  ready 
to  go  home,  without  Mrs.  Sprague' s  loving  help,  much  of 
it  given  in  ill-health  !  Dresses  cut  and  made ;  suits  made 
for  you  ;  a  half  dozen  white  slips  for  the  babies,  and  two 
white  dresses,  dainty  and  lovely,  but  with  strength  and 
life  worked  into  their  folds,  so  that  they  are  like  the 
water  from  Bethlehem's  well,  which  David  could  not 
drink. 

"All  this  was  done  that  your  mamma  might  go  on 
with  the  Chinese  women's  lessons.  You  may  remember 
that  there  were  three  women  almost  daily.  It  really  was 
the  same  as  if  Mrs.  Sprague  had  taught  them  herself,  be- 


IN  LABORS  MOEE  ABUNDANT         207 

cause  slie  took  my  work,  and  left  me  some  time  for  the 
teaching. 

"  How  many  others  here  in  the  mission  and  at  home 
loved  you  and  Etta  for  your  father's  and  mother's  sake, 
and  because  you  were  born  on  heathen  ground,  with  all 
the  drawbacks  of  city  life,  and  of  loneliness  in  the  midst 
of  a  multitude.  And  for  these  years  since  you  have  been 
at  home  in  America,  what  untold  gratitude  and  thanks 
we  all  owe  to  Uncle  Abner  and  Aunt  Mattie,  who  are 
doing  everything  for  you. 

^^When  you  think  over  all  these  things,  your  heart 
will  fill  with  love  to  God,  who  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  all 
these  friends  to  be  so  loving  towards  you.  Because  it 
wasn't  for  anything  wonderful  of  good  in  you  or  in  the 
rest  of  us,  that  people  have  been  so  kind.  We  did  not 
deserve  it  at  all.  Then  why  was  it  ?  It  was  all  done  for 
Jesus'  sake.  So  you  need  to  love  Him  and  thank  Him 
for  it  all,  as  well  as  for  the  far  greater  love  He  showed  by 
dying  for  you.  Before  you  were  born,  long,  long  before 
the  world  was  made.  He  knew  you,  knew  what  you 
would  be  like,  knew  what  you  would  think  and  say  and 
do.  And  He  knew  and  knows  the  same  about  every  one 
of  the  countless  millions  who  have  been  born,  and  who 
have  died.  He  knew  and  knows  the  same  about  every 
one  of  the  countless  millions  who  are  to  be  born,  and 
must  die.  Then,  in  that  long  past  eternity,  knowing  all 
the  sin  which  would  be  lived  out  in  the  lives  of  these  mil- 
lions, He  chose  to  die,  that  these  if  they  only  choose  may 
live.     .     .    .'^ 

^^Kdlgan,  Feb.  16 j  1882, 
"  My  Dear  Sisters  : 

"  I  wonder  that  any  of  you  write  any  letters,  justaa 
I  am  surprised  when  I  write  any  myself.  The  sweeping  of 
floors,  washing  of  faces,  picking  up  of  dolls,  and  setting 


208  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

chairs  right  side  up ;— the  looking  after  scissors  and 
thimbles,  the  planning  for  my  Chinese  friends,  the  bread- 
making,  the  arrangements  for  my  cook's  tri-daily  cam- 
paigns, and  lately,  my  soup-making, — leave  me  neither 
sense,  nor  time,  nor  hands,  for  respectable  letter- writing. 

"  As  I  have  been  relieved  of  two  pairs  of  scissors  and 
my  third,  and  last  thimble,  my  labors  will  be  lighter 
hereafter !  One  of  the  twins  carried  my  steel  thimble 
outdoors,  and  lost  it,  long  ago.  The  ten-cent  one  went 
next, — was  stolen, — and  now  the  other  twin  has  taken  my 
silver  one  into  the  court,  and  probably  one  of  the  men, 
who  were  carrying  coal  in  baskets  on  their  backs,  picked 
it  up.  I  think  I  never  lost  a  thimble  before,  since  com- 
ing to  China.  Dr.  Murdock's  teacher  took  hers,  and 
Miss  Garretson's  thimble  has  now  to  do  duty  for  all  three 
of  us  !    I'm  going  to  make  a  leather  finger  cap. 

^'I'm  interested  in  soup -making,  lately.  The  bones 
and  scraps  of  our  meat  have  kept  the  thing  going  for 
twenty  days'  time.  Carrots  and  cabbage  have  helped, 
and  the  water  in  which  the  vegetables  for  our  table  were 
cooked,  and  steak  gravy, — everything  that's  nice  that  I 
can  get,  goes  in.  At  an  expense  of  one-half  cent  per  day, 
besides  the  bread,  there  has  been  two-thirds  of  a  pint  of 
good  soup  for  three  persons,  daily.  Our  cook's  boy  and 
Tsai  Fu  Yuan's  wife  are  sick,  and  needing  a  change  of 
food,  and  something  easily  digested.  As  for  Lu  Yuan's 
poor  mother,  she  is  needing  to  be  built  up  too.  With  a 
slice  of  bread,  the  pint  is  filled.  Emily  carries  the 
morning  rations  in  my  quart  bowls.  So  far,  they  have 
not  been  broken,  and  the  soup  is  acceptable  and  medici- 
nal in  the  truest  way. 

"I  am  reading  Farrar's  ^  Life  of  Christ^  these  days. 
I  feel  so  eager  to  read  it,  and  it  helps  me  so  much  more 
to  realize  Jesus'  life  on  earth  with  its  grief  and  joy,  that 
it  surely  will  lead  me  to  love  Him  more. 


IN  LABOES  MORE  ABUNDANT  209 

"This  is  the  anniversary  of  our  father^ s  and  mother^ s 
wedding  day,  forty-five  years  ago.  It  has  not  been  very 
long  since  February  16,  1837,  that  is,  the  forty-two  years 
that  I  know  about,  have  not  been  long.  It  will  be  but  a 
short  time  until  our  children  are  men  and  women.  ^^ 

(To  her  sister  Anna.) 

''Kalgan,  Feb.  17,  1882, 

"  To-morrow  is  Chinese  New  Year' s  Day.  Firecrackers 
began  singly  last  night.  The  noise  occurs  at  intervals  all 
day.  Just  you  listen  to-night!  ^It's  Fourth  of  July,  ^ 
you  will  say. 

^*  I  am  just  back  from  the  study  where  I've  been  read- 
ing with  Miao  Hsien  Sheng.  (Don' t  think  him  a  cat  from 
his  name !)  I  don't  find  two  Chinamen  who  read  exactly 
alike.  This  man  uses  the  ru-shengy  but  not  on  all  the 
words  for  which  Dr.  Murdock's  teacher  uses  it.  *  What's 
ru-sheng  ? '  you  say,  ^  and  what  do  we  care  about  it  ? ' 
VWplay  that  you  care  a  great  deal  ! 

'  ^  The  Pekinese  have  four  tones.  A  knowledge  of  these 
is  fundamental,  as  one  word  usually  has  four  different 
meanings,  dependent  upon  the  length  and  pitch  of  the 
tone.  For  instance,  ma  has  four  meanings  ; — ^  mother,' 
*  hempen  string,'  ^  horse,'  and  'to  swear  or  revile.'  Now 
our  Yu  Cho  dialect  has  only  three  tones,  of  which  the  last  is 
most  like  the  third  Pekinese  tone,  the  first  is  like  the  first 
Pekinese  tone  in  quality,  but  is  lower,  and  the  middle  one 
is  like  the  first  in  opening  pitch,  but  is  shorter,  and  falls 
more  at  its  close.  Some  comical  things  happen  from  this 
complete  turning  around  of  tones.  When  our  helper  Kao 
Hsi  spoke  about  repentance  and  reformation  down  at 
Peking,  the  Pekinese  said  he  was  talking  about  some- 
thing's hind  leg  !  If  one  speaks  of  a  State  Church  in  the 
Yu  Cho  dialect,  a  Peking  man  would,  if  critical,  say  he 
was  speaking  of  foot-binding.     But  the  fact  is  that  our 


210  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

people  here  at  Kalgan  are  used  to  sucli  a  variety  of 
dialects  that  they  will  understand  anything.  The  mertj  I 
mean,  for  the  women  can't.  A  word  more  about  the  ru- 
slieng,  the  shortest  possible  of  tones.  It  can  only  be  used 
on  certain  classes  of  words,  and  about  a  few  of  these  the 
custom  varies  with  the  place.  The  pronunciation  varies 
greatly,  but  all  shoot  these  words  out  as  from  a  pop -gun. 
Words  having  the  ru-sheng  may  be  considered  by  far  the 
older  forms  of  the  language.  Down  south  the  k  and  t 
finals  are  signs  of  this  short  tone.     .     .     ." 

^^  Kalgan,  April  9,  1882, 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Cornelia  : 

^^.  .  .  I  have  been  very  happy  in  the  work 
God  gives  me  to  do  for  a  very  few.  Study  of  the  Psalms 
is  a  daily  joy,  for  I  know  that  Tsai  Fu  Yuan  gains  a 
deeper  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  in  addition  to  the  gain 
which  I  make  in  the  language ; — his  gain  far  more  im- 
portant than  mine.  His  younger  brother,  too,  I  have 
been  able  to  love  and  help.  (Do  you  know  that  I  think 
when  I'm  dying  I  shall  remember  that  wonderful  page 
in  ^  Daily  Light '  which  you  copied  for  our  family  letter  ; 
I  shall  remember  it  as  in  your  handwriting,  and  it  will 
be  for  your  good-bye  to  me /or  a  little  while.  '  I  can  (I  am 
able  to)  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me. '  *  Able, '  — it  is  Jesus  who  makes  me  able  to  love  and 
help  the  boy  Lu  Yuan. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  of  the  lad.  With  some  help  from  an 
invalid  mother  (who  does  part  of  our  washing  in  an  in- 
different way),  he  has  to  support  the  family  of  five  per- 
sons. When  he  began  working  for  me,  nearly  all  their 
clothes  were  in  the  pawn-shop.  That  was  well  enough 
for  summer-time,  but  when  winter  comes,  even  old  clothes 
are  a  convenience.  Mr.  Williams  lent  him  two  months' 
wages  to  redeem  some  of  them  and  keep  the  family  from 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  211 

starvi  ng.  I  helped  them  out  by  letting  Lu  Yuan' s  mother, 
Mrs.  Tsai,  sew  for  me.  She  is  nearly  blind,  but  I  got 
easy  work  for  her,  and  as  she  used  to  be  a  good  seamstress, 
her  needle  goes  of  itself,  after  a  fashion.  Then  I  used  to 
send  poor  old  Mr.  Tsai,  the  father,  some  milk  every  day, 
as  he  had  just  given  up  the  last  grains  of  opium  which  he 
was  taking.  It  became  easy  to  wake  up  nights  to  pray 
for  them.  You  think  it  would  have  been  a  simple  way 
to  help  them  by  giving  money  outright,  but  there  are 
reasons  why  that  did  not  seem  at  all  wise.  I  gave  them 
pieces  of  woolen  goods  to  make  shoes  for  the  two  little 
boys,  and  bits  of  unbleached  muslin  to  make  stockings 
of,  and  an  old  sheet  to  line  some  of  their  wadded  clothes. 
"At  one  time  towards  the  end  of  the  year,  when  his 
father's  old  creditors  were  worrying  the  poor  lad,  Lu 
Yuan  looked  for  weeks  like  a  thunder-cloud.  (Poor  boy, 
he  has  a  high  and  mighty  temper  to  control.)  It  made 
me  actually  sick  to  see  him, — took  away  my  appetite, — 
I  was  so  sorry  for  him.  After  the  new  year  had  come  in, 
they  left  off  their  persecutions,  and  he  got  hold  of  Moody's 
sermon  on  heaven,  which  Dr.  Porter  has  translated.  It 
has  done  him  more  good  than  I  can  tell.  Last  night  while 
he  was  setting  the  table,  I  took  the  opportunity  to  have  a 
little  talk  when  nobody  else  was  present.  I  said,  ^  You're 
happier  now  than  a  few  months  ago,  Lu  Yuan  ? '  ^  Yes, 
but  what  makes  you  think  so  ? '  '  Your  face  shows  it,'  I 
said.  '  Jesus  has  helped  me, '  was  his  answer.  ^  He  helped 
you  partly  by  that  book  of  Moody  Hsien  Sheng's,  did  He 
not  1 '  *  That  was  a  very  great  help.  There's  nothing  so 
very  pleasant  in  this  life,  but  it  makes  one  happy  to  think 
of  the  after,''  I  told  him  that  I  pray  for  him  every  day, 
linking  my  two  boys  of  the  Tsai  family  together,  so  as 
not  to  forget  either.  He  said,  '  I  knew  you  did,  and  Miss 
Evans  and  Kwo  Fu  pray  for  me  too.'  The  table  was  set 
by  that  time,  and  I  went  to  stir  up  cakes  for  breakfast, 


212  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

but  the  few  words  will  cheer  him  on  in  the  way  which  we 
travel  together. 

"  Dr.  Murdock  is  having  wonderful  success  with  her 
opium  patients.  She  gets  them  past  the  miserable  stage 
very  soon.  It  does  not  last  more  than  two  days  or  three 
at  the  most. 

"We  have  a  new  mandarin  here  who  is  not  going  to 
allow  the  raising  of  opium.  That  will  make  many  anx- 
ious to  leave  off  the  use  of  it  before  the  price  has  gone  up 
too  greatly.  This  Kuan  (Mandarin)  has  had  eleven 
robbers  killed  lately,  by  decapitation.  The  axes  are  not 
sharp,  according  to  accounts  of  the  spectators. 

**Next  week  the  Chinese  theatre  will  be  at  our  gate. 
We  may  have  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  visitors  a  day 
for  the  three  days  of  the  HsL  I  wish  we  could  scatter 
them  along  in  the  days  when  no  one  comes  !  '^ 

"  Tungchouj  June  1,  1882, 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Anna  : 

"Here  we  are  at  mission  meeting.  I  have  made 
up  my  mind  to  write  you  this  afternoon,  right  in  the  face 
of  all  these  reverend  brethren, — right  in  the  midst  of  a 
most  animated  discussion  about  the  press  at  Peking. 

"  Yesterday  evening  the  whole  company  of  us  took  tea 
in  Mr.  Sheffield's  court.  Plates  were  laid  for  forty,  nine- 
teen of  whom  were  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sheffield  were 
at  the  ends  of  the  table.  Dr.  Porter  was  at  my  left ;  Mr. 
Ament  just  across  from  me,  and  then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stan- 
ley, and  Mrs.  Porter  and  Lucius.  We  had  a  merry  time, 
— not  too  merry,  but  charming.  The  table  was  trimmed 
all  around  with  arbor  vitse,  and  flowers  here  and  there. 
It  was  beautiful !  I  wore  my  brown  silk,  and  Miss  Por- 
ter said  she  quite  approved  of  me  in  that  dress.  Mrs. 
Sheffield  said  this  morning  that  all  we  lacked  was  a  tele- 
phone from  one  end  of  the  table  to  another.    This  is  a 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         213 

pleasant  change  for  us, — the  coming  to  mission  meeting. 
The  children  are  happy  as  larks  !  (Mr.  Stanley  is  talking 
now  about  a  college  at  Tientsin.  It  will  come  some  time, 
perhaps  there,  perhaps  at  Peking.) 

"I  am  so  glad  to  be  in  Mra.  Chapin's  home,  and  to  see 
her  with  her  children.  I  have  loved  my  children,  but 
not  enough.  I  have  loved  my  Saviour,  but  not  enough. 
I  do  desire  to  be  His.  I  do  desire  that  my  dear  ones  shall 
be  His, — now,  just  now." 

^^  Afternoon, 
"We  had  such  a  lovely  meeting  this  noon.    Miss  Por- 
ter led.     She  asked  us  to  give  any  promise  or  word  from 
the  Bible  which  has  been  especially  precious,  or  to  bring 
the  chief  desire  of  our  hearts  as  subject  for  prayer.    .    .    .'^ 

''July,  1882. 
"  Our  Dr.  Murdock  is  having  grand  success,  and  is  us- 
ing up  all  our  rags  and  stocking  feet  and  old  flannel  at 
an  alarming  rate.  Do  not  be  surprised  if  we  all  go  down 
to  mission  meeting  next  year  tied  up  in  grain  bags,  as 
the  only  things  that  are  not  useful  to  our  patients !  " 

''Kalgan,  Sept.  19,  1882, 
"  Dear  Sisters  : 

"  Our  neighbors  of  the  Wang  family  have  just  had 
a  sacrificial  feast.  In  consequence  we  have  had  many 
visitors.  Yesterday  they  came  in  great  numbers,  all  day 
long.  The  opportunity  which  has  come  to-day  has  seemed 
even  better  than  that.  No  houseful  to-day,  to  keep  up  a 
chatter,  but  just  one  man  with  his  son,  a  lad,  and  the  two- 
year-old  baby.  I  talked  with  him,  telling  him  of  God 
the  Creator,  of  the  creation  and  the  fall,  but  came  straight- 
way to  the  Babe  in  the  manger,  and  right  through  the 
works  of  divine  power  to  the  cross,  the  grave,  and  the 


214  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

resurrection.  ^Listen  well,'  the  father  said  to  his  son, 
but  when  the  baby  cried  for  mother,  he  said,  ^  Take  her 
out ;  buy  her  some  beans  to  eat,  and  amuse  her,'  while 
he  paid  most  earnest  attention.  Oh,  this  was  so  different 
from  every  day.  Every  day  is  like  this : — *  There  is  but 
one  true  God,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth.  Heaven  is 
not  God,  it  is  His  throne,' — '  How  many  meals  a  day  do 
you  eat  ? '     *  We  are  all  sinners,' — *  How  many  children 

have  you  ?'...*  God  sent  His  Son,  Jesus,  to ' 

*  How  old  are  you  ! '  To  be  sure  I  try  to  answer  all  these 
questions  before  beginning,  but  a  newcomer  asks  them 
all  over  again.  Then  I  do  not  answer,  but  some  one  of 
the  party  does,  and  I  wait  a  moment  and  go  on,  only  to 
be  again  interrupted. 

^^Dr.  Murdock's  patients  bring  her  eggs,  sugar,  vege- 
tables and  fruit  of  all  kinds  as  thank-offerings.  I  buy 
most  of  them  of  the  dispensary  at  market  prices.  Once  I 
got  a  lot  of  bad  eggs,  eighty-four !  It  was  my  first  experi- 
ence with  eggs  that  pop  like  firecrackers,  and  it  scared 
me.  Pop,  pop,  and  with  every  pop  a  scream,  and  then  a 
laugh.  Those  eggs  were  worth  all  I  should  have  paid  for 
them,  for  the  fun  of  the  thing.  I  popped  them  by 
dozens,  one  morning,  pop,  scream,  laugh.  I  did  some- 
times keep  back  the  squeal,  but  there  would  come  a  loud 
report,  and  then  a  body  could  not  help  it !  The  giver 
wasn't  to  blame.  Probably  he  had  just  one  hen,  and 
waited  till  she  laid  enough  for  a  handsome  present. 

** .  .  .  I  have  made  a  beginning  at  learning  to  write 
Chinese.  It  cannot  ever  be  much  more  than  a  beginning, 
yet  it  will  help  to  fix  the  character  on  one's  mind.  Just 
now  I  must  sew.  Emily  is  nearly  out  of  clothes.  All 
hers,  Mary  falls  heir  to.  As  for  the  twins,  this  morning 
I  cut  out  six  aprons  for  them,  all  of  blue  and  white  calico. 

' '  Dear  sisters,  I  wish  we  could  sit  down  every  day  for 
fifteen  minutes  together,  to  read  our  Bibles,  and  compare 


>       IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         215 

notes.  The  Bible  is  so  wonderful  that  I  vainly  wish  for 
some  of  the  time  I  wasted  years  ago,  to  spend  upon  it 
now.  Don't  suppose  I  would  read  nothing  else !  But 
there's  less  time  for  other  books  than  once  there  was. 
And  it  is  far  too  easy  for  us  just  to  have  our  favorite 
Psalms,  chapters,  and  verses,  and  let  the  rest  go.  Well, 
since  we  can't  sit  down  together,  let  us  take  some  one  else 
instead.  I  am  sure  that  Tsai  Fu  Yuan  has  a  quickened 
sense  of  the  worth,  the  preciousness  of  this  gift  of  God. 
Now  perhaps  my  sewing  woman  is  the  next  one  I  am  to 
help." 

*^  My  Dear  Sister  Martha  : 

" .  .  .  I  have  kept  on  with  my  Chinese  lesson 
daily  this  fall,  and  have  tried  to  commit  to  memory  at 
night.  The  Psalms  are  wonderful !  I  have  just  reached 
the  last  division  or  fifth  book  of  the  Psalms,  and  am  try- 
ing to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  Babylonish  captivity  and  of 
the  persons  who  were  leaders  in  the  restoration  to  their 
own  land.  What  intensely  interesting  characters  are 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah  ! 

"I  think  Ezra  must  have  written  some  of  the  Psalms 
of  the  restoration.  If  so,  which  ?  Read  one  verse,  and 
you  will  guess  as  I  did.  '  For  Ezra  had  prepared  his 
heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it,  and  to 
teach  in  Israel  statutes  and  judgments'  (Ezra  7:10). 
What  Psalm  do  you  think  of?    I  said  out  loud,  ^  Ezra 

wrote  the Psalm  ! '  and  found  Cowles'  Commentary, 

and  was  as  pleased  as  can  be  imagined  that  he  suggests 
the  same  thing. 

*'  Just  note  that  verse  quoted  above.  He  had  prepared 
his  heart,  made  it  ready  (being  thoroughly  in  earnest, 
having  decided  forever  to  keep  his  heart  open  to  God, 
shut  to  sin),  to  seek  the  law  (he  that  seeks,  finds),  and  to 
do  it,  and  to  teach  statutes  and  judgments.     There  are 


216  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

three  steps,  it  seems ;  a  strong  choice  to  be  made  fit  for 
the  searching  out  of  God's  will, — obedience  to  God's  will, 
—and  teaching  others  to  obey  God's  will." 

^^Kalgan,  Oct.  20,  1882. 
"  Dear  Father  : 

*^I  am  busy  sewing  for  winter.  But  the  chief 
thought  of  my  mind  is  how  best  to  help  smooth  the  dying 
pillow  of  our  neighbor,  and  former  cook,  Tsai  Yu.  His 
death  seems  only  a  matter  of  a  few  days  or  weeks  longer. 
His  body  appears  used  up  and  worn  out.  First  by  fixing 
upon  it  the  opium  habit,  then  by  giving  that  up  at  inter- 
vals, and  lastly  by  the  necessary  use  of  kinds  of  food 
which  do  not  suit  a  victim  of  opium. 

"The  physicians  say,  ^  Give  a  man  opium,  by  smoking, 
in  slowly  increasing  quantities,  and  give  him  besides,  such 
food  as  he  craves, — meat,  rice  and  wheat  flour, — he  may 
live  long.'  But  let  anything  occur  to  distui'b  his  regular 
habits,  as  poverty,  coming  like  an  armed  man,  and  all  is 
changed.  His  allowance  of  the  drug  is  cut  down,  com- 
pelling him  to  eat  or  drink  it,  instead  of  smoking  it,  and 
he  must  change  his  food  to  the  cheaper  kinds  (which 
other  people  can  nevertheless  live  on)  ;  and  diseases  come 
upon  him  which  will  sooner  or  later  end  his  life. 

"This  man  professed  Christianity  soon  after  we  came 
to  Kalgan.  He  was  Mrs.  Gulick's  cook,  after  which  he 
was  ours,  and  remained  in  that  capacity  until  we  went 
home  to  America.  We  knew  in  the  later  years  that  he 
was  an  opium  user,  and  knew  also,  from  circumstantial 
evidence,  that  he  left  it  off,  at  least  twice,  during  those 
years.  We  surmised  each  time  that  he  took  it  up  again. 
At  one  time  Mr.  Williams  would  have  dismissed  him 
from  employ,  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  wife's  health  at 
the  time.  The  question  gave  us  anxious  thought  for 
days  and  nights,  for  months  and  years  even — I  may  truly 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         217 

say.  Had  we  a  right  to  keep  a  man  in  employ  who 
spent  of  his  wages,  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  dollars  per  year 
for  opium!  Had  we  known  it  earlier,  we  should  not 
have  kept  him  in  our  service  ;  and  looking  at  the  matter 
now,  I  suppose  we  ought  to  have  dismissed  him.  Our 
knowledge  of  his  breaking  off  the  use  of  opium  at  times 
gave  us  hope. 

"  The  principle  among  the  Chinese  that  it  is  dishonor- 
able to  disclose  the  sins  of  others  if  it  will  injure  their 
prospects,  makes  it  difficult  to  get  at  the  truth.  Only 
great  anger  will  bring  out  the  hidden  wrong.  Progress 
has  been  made  on  this  point.  There  are  now  church- 
members  who  will  dare  to  tell  the  truth.  Tsai  Yii  was 
excommunicated,  and  has  never  been  received  back. 
Even  after  his  late  and  possibly  final  cure  from  opium, 
the  missionaries  could  have  no  confidence  in  him.  *  What 
poor  stuff  your  churches  are  built  up  of  ! '  some  will  say. 
Paul  said,  *And  such  were  some  of  you,'  to  the  Ck)rin- 
thians. 

"Our  servant  was  of  a  good  family.  His  wife  was  a 
woman  who  seemed  to  be  telling  the  truth  in  ways  where 
Chinese  expect  servants  to  lie.  For  example,  in  buying 
seven  cash  worth  of  thread  or  thirty-six  cash  worth  of 
wooden  combs  to  say  seven  instead  of  eight  or  nine,  and 
thirty-six  instead  of  forty.  Her  husband  appeared  more 
honest  in  his  purchases  than  some  others.  So  when  again 
and  again  balancing  the  question,  we  again  and  again 
decided  to  let  the  tree  stand  a  little  longer,  while  we 
should  dig  about  it.  The  trouble  was  that  the  tree 
would  bear  no  use  of  the  spade.  The  earth  about  it 
might  not  be  touched.  Any  attempt  to  bring  up  the  sin 
was  met  with  denial.  Well,  where  were  our  proofe  ?  We 
had  not  often  proof  which  could  be  used.  He  would  say, 
*  At  the  time  you  speak  of,  I  was  sick.  Opium  is  the 
only  thing  which  cures  me.     I  have  to  take  it  for  two  or 


218  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

three  days  at  a  time.'  Or  as  a  final  clincher  he  would 
appeal  to  heaven,  or  with  an  expression  of  injured  inno- 
cence end  off  with  *If  you  say  I  take  it,  I  take  iV  This 
does  not  mean  what  you  may  suppose.  It  is  saying,  '  I  am 
innocent ;  if  you  falsely  accuse  me,  I  will  say  no  more.' 

*^Next  door  to  Tsai  Yii's  room,  where  he  lies  dying,  is 
the  coffin  of  a  young  Manchu  woman.  She  died  four 
days  since.  Her  parents  were  very  fond  of  her,  their 
only  child,  and  have  made  many  temple  offerings  hoping 
to  save  her  life.  They  have  called  in  necromancers,  they 
have  bought  the  most  expensive  medicines  as  ginseng 
(ren  seng)  and  a  patent  medicine  costing  ten  taels,  or 
about  fourteen  dollars.  They  have  forced  her  husband's 
father  into  the  same  kind  of  expenses,  until  the  young 
man  said,  as  his  wife  was  near  death,  *  The  money  is 
gone  and  the  person  (woman)  gone.'  He  had  to  buy  for 
her  five  new  suits  of  clothes — three  of  them  wadded — and 
all  were  put  on.  All  her  own  good  clothes  and  shoes 
were  either  put  into  the  coffin  with  her,  or  burned.  Five 
complete  sets  of  silver  or  gold-plated  head  ornaments 
were  to  be  put  on  her  head  or  in  the  coffin.  Think  of 
the  poor,  emaciated  face,  with  the  gleaming  silver  and 
gold  standing  out  in  her  hair,  and  the  shrunken  body 
with  its  layers  of  wadded  clothing  !  Her  husband  was 
swelling  with  rage  at  being  obliged  to  do  all  this.  These 
ornaments  are  worth  over  fifty  dollars,  a  large  sum  for 
poor  folks ;  and  some  were  given  by  his  family.  As  his 
mother  is  dead,  they  cannot  get  on  without  a  woman  in 
the  house,  and  his  father  is  making  arrangements  for  a 
new  daughter-in-law  immediately.  This  one  was  the  sec- 
ond wife,  and  but  twenty-eight  years  old.  I  heard  it 
said  that  her  death  and  burial,  and  the  new  bride's  home- 
coming would  all  be  in  one  month's  time. 

*'  Lu  Yuan  has  bought  his  father's  burial  clothes.  He 
bought  shoes  with  leather  soles.     This  does  not  accord 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  219 

with  Chinese  ideas.  Perhaps  it  is  a  suggestion  to  the 
lictors  of  Hades  that  there  was  something  beastly  about 
the  man.  At  any  rate  the  emperor  of  that  world  of  the 
dead  will  be  sure  to  send  him  back  as  an  animal.  Lu 
Yuan's  uncle  went  in  to  see  the  sick  man.  *  You  must 
change  these.  They  won't  do  at  all.  You  will  be  sneered 
at,'  said  he,  and  his  nephew  didn't  know  what  to  do.  *I 
wouldn't  have  got  them  if  I  had  known,'  he  said.  ^But 
I  told  the  folks,'  he  went  on,  'that  Jesus'  disciples  went 
to  heaven  when  they  died.' 

"  *  Ask  your  father  what  to  do,'  I  said.  It  was  a  new 
thought  that  Buddhist  doctrines  might  extend  to  shoe 
soles.  He  did,  and  the  poor  wreck  of  opium  said,  '  Keep 
them,  I  know  my  soul  cannot  enter  a  beast.  If  the  Lord 
will  have  me  in  heaven,  I  shall  go  there ;  if  not,  I  shall 
go  to  hell.     There  will  be  no  coming  back.' 

' '  Can  you  know  how  glad  I  was  ?  As  I  write  about  it, 
my  heart  is  so  full  of  compassion,  that  I  sit  here  crying, 
and  turn  my  back,  that  the  sewing  woman  and  my  chil- 
dren shall  not  see. 

"Your  affectionate  daughter, 

*'  Isabella  R.  Williams." 

'^Kalgan^  Dec.  13,  1882. 
"  My  Dear  Own  Sister  Anna  : 

"  Our  mail  came  this  morning,  just  before  Chinese 
prayers.  Reading  snatches  from  the  papers,  while  baking 
the  bread,  I  found  myself  wondering  which  ones  of  our 
family  read  the  same  things  that  I  do.  I  think  Cornelia, 
being  the  wife  of  an  editor,  has  the  greatest  variety  to 
choose  from,  and  I  think  of  proposing  to  her  a  Sabbath 
tryst  on  the  second  page  of  the  Christian  WeeJcly.  I  find 
very  often  something  on  that  page,  which  helps  me  on 
the  way  up  to  God. 

"I  wonder  if  you  take  the  Life  and  Light  now.    It  is 


220  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

rare  to  me  that  I  read  a  number  without  findiug  some 
person  or  place  for  which  to  pray.  The  fear  came  into 
my  mind  to-day, — what  if  my  dear  ones,  my  brothers, 
and  especially  my  sisters,  are  forgetting  to  pray  for  me  ! 
Have  you  got  into  the  habit  of  telling  God  your  love  and 
wishes  for  the  rest  of  us,  for  your  other  dear  ones,  while 
you  are  at  housework  or  sewing?  I  do  while  sewing, 
unless  the  children  are  too  noisy.  I  can't  when  in  a  rush 
of  work,  but  when  preparing  fruit,  as  peeling  tomatoes 
or  peaches,  or  washing  crab-apples  for  jelly,  I  get  some 
quiet  minutes  often,  and  frequently  many.  They  rest  me 
and  gladden  me  so  wonderfully  when  I  spend  them  talk- 
ing to  Jesus.  But  what  if  you  are  not  praying  for  me  ! 
Then  I  fear  I  shall  fail  to  do  the  saving  work  which  I 
ought  to  do  here.  For  the  sake  of  these  many,  many 
people  who  know  not  our  Lord,  do  pray  for  me, — for  us. 
And  don't  forget  our  Girls'  School  when  you  pray, — these 
dear  little  girls  with  bound  feet,  and  hair  done  up  to 
stand  out  like  horns  or  teapots  from  their  heads. — The 
prettiest  and  brightest  of  them  has  been  very  sick.  She 
is  such  a  dear  little  thing.  Do  you  think  I  described  the 
little  schoolgirls  just  to  make  you  laugh?  No,  indeed; 
but  laugh  first, — ^you'll  pray  just  as  well  afterwards. 
How  could  you  pray  for  them  at  all,  without  a  shadowed 
idea  of  their  looks  ? 

^^  Mr.  Arthur  Smith  has  written  such  learned  and  witty 
articles  on  Chinese  proverbs.  I  wish  you  could  see  them. 
Yet  the  ^  hen-tracks '  would  aggravate  you,  even  though 
most  of  them  are  translated.  I  wish  I  could  write  the 
*  hen-tracks'  !  Mr.  Smith  fills  his  letters  with  them, 
while  I  pride  myself  simply  on  being  able  to  read  them  I 

*^  The  children  have  had  a  great  pasting  fit.  Even  the 
twins  make  their  books  very  neatly.  But  they  put  in  all 
sorts  of  things, — poetry  and  ague  cure,  organs  and  stove- 
polish  !" 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  221 

(To  her  sister  Cornelia.) 

^'Kalgauj  Jan.  25,  1883. 

".  .  .  I  was  so  glad  to  get  your  letter.  I  am  in  great 
perplexity  and  sadness  about  some  of  our  dear  Chinese,  and 
a  letter  from  any  of  the  best  beloved  at  home  comforts  me 
just  now  more  than  I  can  tell.  I  could  almost  give  my 
life  for  some  of  these.  What  if  I  should  never  save  the 
souls  of  any  f 

*^  Dr.  Murdock  and  Miss  Garretson  were  here  to  tea  this 
evening.  We  talked  over  the  appropriations  just  sent 
out  from  Boston,  or  rather  the  ?io7i-appropriations.  Our 
North  China  Mission  is  cut  down  over  $5,000  of  what  we 
asked.  Our  Boys'  Day  School  is  cut  down  from  $150  to 
$50.  Mr.  Williams  is  going  to  shoulder  that  himself,  if 
there  is  no  other  way.     .     .     . 

*  '•  You  wrote  October  twenty-seventh.  I  receive  and  an- 
swer January  twenty-fifth.  You  will  not  receive  this  un- 
til the  winter  is  over  and  gone,  and  the  time  of  the  sing- 
ing of  birds  is  come. 

"  How  precious  and  beautiful  it  was  to  have  dear  papa 
in  your  home  with  your  baby  in  his  arms.  Shall  I  ever 
forget  his  taking  the  twins  up,  one  on  each  knee,  and 
holding  them  there  so  many  times?  It  seems  that  a 
blessing  must  follow  them  from  having  been  in  his  arms. 

".  .  .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean  showed  me  great  kind- 
ness when  I  was  in  Minneapolis.  I  could  never  tell  them 
or  any  one  how  deeply  I  still  feel  their  kind  hospitality. 
If  you  ever  have  an  opportunity  to  do  anything  for  any 
of  their  family,  or  indeed  for  any  of  the  Ponds,  I  hope 
you  will  do  it  with  joy.  I  can  never  do  anything  for  any 
of  the  old  friends  of  former  days.  Some  time  I  may  do 
something  for  newer  friends. 

"  Our  weather  has  been  the  coldest  by  one  degree  that 
we  have  ever  known, — it  was  sixteen  below  zero  one 
morning. 


222  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

**The  children  had  long  red  and  blue  pencils  given 
them  for  Christmas.  They  have  used  them  up  entirely 
in  a  month^s  time  !  There  was  but  a  half  inch  left  of 
Anna's  yesterday.  Imagine  if  you  will  the  delight  which 
the  two  midgets  have  known  during  the  time  of  this 
shortening  of  the  pencils  !  Imagine  a  corresponding  de- 
gree of  misery  to  their  mother,  as  all  the  Babylands  and 
Nurseries  have  put  on  a  coat  of  red  and  blue  ! 

"  May  Grod  bless  you  and  your  two  beloved  ones. 
"  As  always,  with  love,  your  sister, 
"Isabella.'' 

^^Kalgarij  June  29,  1883. 
"My  Dear  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"I  am  ashamed  to  write  you  this  time,  yet  don't 
like  to  hint  at  the  reason  here  on  the  first  page.  Yet  un- 
til that  is  done,  I  can't  feel  free  to  write  of  anything  else. 
^  How  have  I  got  on  so  far  ? '  you  say,  when  I  haven't  got 
on  so  far  at  all. 

"Let  me  tell  you  the  truth.  I  have  come  to  face  the 
dreadful  possibility  that  my  life  should  be  a  failure,  con- 
sidered as  a  missionary  life.  There  is  nothing  but  prayer 
to  meet  such  a  fear.  If,  so  far  as  I  know,  I  do  not  save  a 
single  soul,  and  if  I  do  not  live  in  the  spirit  which  may 
have  power  with  God  and  men,  why  my  life  is  a  failure. 
If  I  see  Lu  Yuan's  precious  soul  caught  in  by  the  devil's 
snare,  if  I  see  truth  fading  out  of  his  face  and  falsehood 
coming  in  its  place,  if  I  know  that  according  to  human 
probabilities,  every  day  makes  his  salvation  less  probable, 
there  is  nothing  but  agony  of  prayer  to  meet  the  case. 
For  if  I  do  not  save  him  and  his  mother,  whom  shall  I  be 
used  to  save?  Some  one  whom  I  know  and  love  less  well  f 
Some  one  whom  I  neither  know  nor  love  at  all  ? 

"  It  isnH  getting  on  far.  You  would  do  the  same  in  my 
case.    In  imminent  danger  of  death  all  pray.    This  is 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  223 

just  tlie  same— ouly  soul-death  instead  of  body-death, 
and  for  another  instead  of  one's  self,  but  that  doesn't 
matter.  What  we  realize  keenly,  moves  to  action. 
Prayer  is  action — '  the  highest  activity  the  soul  is  capable 
of.'  Yet  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  best  for  us  to  think  of 
it  so,  except  when  necessary  to  keep  us  from  being  dis- 
couraged in  it ;  because  if  it  accomplishes  anything,  it  is 
not  the  prayer,  but  the  love  and  power  which  answers 
the  prayer,  which  has  efi&cacy.     ^  Thine  is  the  power.' 

'^I  don't  know  yet  if  my  lad  is  to  be  saved.  I  have 
been  easier  about  him,  and  stopped  praying  as  much  as 
before.  Perhaps  it  is  too  soon.  Perhaps  I  thought  he 
was  going  to  stand  firm,  when  his  feet  are  not  firm  yet. 
Last  night  prayer  was  the  only  resource  and  comfort. 
.  .  .  I  find  we  need  to  ^  begin  again '  often.  As  you 
say,  this  time  of  our  beloved  father's  sickness  is  a  good 
time  for  a  new  beginning." 

''July  2d. 

"Yesterday  afternoon  I  went  with  Dr.  Murdock  to  the 
dispensary  down-town.  On  donkey-back»  we  rode  through 
the  pleasant  lanes  and  byways  where  rattling  carts  never 
go.  Pleasant  lanes!  Don't  think  of  hawthorn  hedges 
and  violets  peeping  from  the  sward  !  I  hardly  know  if 
we  saw  a  blade  of  grass.  These  lanes  are  pleasant  be- 
cause they  were  clean  (approximately)  and  because 
there  were  no  dogs  to  bark,  —(that  is,  not  many)  and  very 
few  men  to  gaze  at  us.  There  were  some  willow  trees 
pleasant  to  the  eye, — both  the  old  veterans,  who  have 
been  our  friends  for  many  years,  and  a  row  or  two  of 
young  ones,  and  some  young  poplars  and  lindens. 

"There  were  some  women  and  young  girls  wait- 
ing to  see  us.  During  the  hour  and  a  half  of  our  stay,  we 
had  more  than  twenty-five  in  all,  not  counting  little  chil- 
dr^jj,     It  Tras  a  good  opportunity  to  talk  to  them  j  also  to 


224  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

be  patient  with  them  in  their  own  talk,  and  yet  seize  the 
right  place  to  turn  conversation  back  into  the  channel  I 
wished.  I  was  very  glad  to  have  the  privilege.  Nor  did 
I  repent,  as  how  could  I  ? — when  this  morning  I  found 
that  Daisy  had  seized  that  auspicious  hour  for  working 
her  own  sweet  will,  and  had  turned  my  little  desk  over 
bottom  side  up  for  a  few  moments,  long  enough  to  send  a 
river  of  ink  through  my  envelopes  and  cuttings  from 
papers.  My  letters  to  and  from  friends  were  fortunately 
spared." 

"The  rain  everybody  has  been  praying  for  came  yes- 
terday evening  and  night.  It  was  earlier  at  the  sources 
of  the  mountain  torrents,  and  soon  came  the  booming  of  a 
wild  river,  born  in  an  hour.  It  tore  away  large  parts  of 
the  stone  embankments.  It  broke  the  heavy  wooden  bar 
which  fastens  the  great  gate,  and  hurled  immense  boul- 
ders through,  of  which  one,  at  least,  weighs  six  or  seven 
hundred  pounds.  They  were  carried  along  by  the  torrent 
for  nearly  half  a  mile.  The  shopkeepers  outside  the 
gate  left  their  houses,  going  up  on  the  highest  ground  in 
reach,  and  praying  and  begging  the  keepers  of  the  gate  to 
open  it,  so  there  might  be  a  waterway.  They  feared  that 
the  torrent  would  pour  in  on  their  shops  until  they  should 
be  drowned.  No  one  heeded  them  but  Grod.  His  water 
flood  opened  itself  a  way. 

' '  Carts,  oxen,  and  horses  were  swept  before  the  terrible 
torrent.  I  have  not  heard  whether  any  men  were 
drowned.  A  man  might  escape,  even  though  a  horse 
could  not.  He  would  be  wiser,  and  would  run  to  the 
nearest  point  of  safety.  The  flood  came  down  in  a  solid 
wall,  six  or  eight  feet  high.  It  is  strange  to  see  a  wall  of 
water  walking  over  the  dry  river  bed.  We  saw  it  once 
years  ago.  Lovingly, 

"Isabella," 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         225 

^^  Kalgan,  Aug.  16,  1883, 
"  Dear  Sister  Cornelia  : 

"  I  have  had  a  fit  of  mending  books  this  afternoon, 
and  have  finished  twelve  which  were  in  all  stages  of  di- 
lapidation,— beginning  with  one  which  had  two  leaves 
out,  and  ending  with  more  than  one  which  was  entirely 
out  of  the  binding  and  well  pulled  apart.  Mr.  Williams 
thinks  me  an  accomplished  bookbinder,  and  has  handed 
over  two  volumes  of  Matthew  Henry,  huge,  and  with 
heavy  leather  covers,  one  of  which  is  quite  apart  from 
the  book.     Well,  paste  will  do  wonders  ! 

^*What  a  darling  baby  !  Do  have  all  the  happiness 
with  your  baby  that  is  possible,  Cornelia  dear.  I  regret 
nothing  so  much  as  not  taking  more  time  to  enjoy  my 
babies.  Now  I  have  to  wait  for  my  grandchildren,  and 
it  will  be  a  great  while  I    .     .     . 

"With  love,  your 

"Isabella." 


^^Ealgan,  Sep.  22,  1883. 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Anna  : 

" .  .  .  The  washing  is  done,  dinner  is  over,  and 
Hannah^  s  father  has  j  ust  been  in.  Think  a  bit,  and  you^  11 
remember  that  Hannah  was  one  of  the  little  Chinese  girls 
whom  Mrs.  Gulick  adopted.  She  is  now  in  Japan.  The 
parents  want  to  see  her,  and  think  she  might  come  over 
for  a  few  days,  at  least !  They  sent  word  to  her  about 
the  family, — her  sisters  and  their  children.     .     .     . 

"I  have  just  finished  making  myself  a  gingham  dress 
and  lining  Mr.  Williams'  overcoat, — a  heavy  job,  and  one 
I  should  not  do  if  there  were  only  a  tailor  to  be  had.  As 
for  the  children,  Emily's  ^Marjorie-coat '  descends  to 
Mary  this  winter,  and  must  be  rebound  with  braid,  and 
I  am  to  make  Emily  a  new  one." 


226  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'' October  8th. 

'^The  'Marjorie-coat^  is  too  small  for  Mary,  but  will 
do  before  long  for  a  twin !  The  twins'  blue  dresses 
have  seen  a  good  deal  of  service,  and  I'm  happy  to  say, 
will  see  much  more.  The  hems  have  been  faced,  the 
sleeves  pieced  down  at  the  top,  and  but  one  more  thing 
remains  to  do, — take  off  the  collars  to  patch  the  elbows  ! 
May  that  day  be  distant,  although  inevitable.  This 
patching  and  mending  of  old  things  is  necessary,  living  as 
we  do,  among  the  Chinese  who,  in  their  extreme  poverty, 
think  it  extravagant  to  throw  anything  away.  The  chief 
reason,  however,  is  that  I  may  have  work  to  give  these 
poor  women,  and  so  keep  them  from  beggary.  A  few 
cents  a  day  will  enable  them  to  be  independent. 

^^  We  were  invited  to  celebrate  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague's 
wedding  anniversary.  Mr.  Williams  wrote  some  verses 
for  the  occasion,  and  I  thought  them  delightful.  We 
had  such  a  precious  hour  of  family  worship  and  thanks- 
giving after  supper.  Mrs.  Sprague  has  a  lovely  home. 
It  is  not  the  house^  though  the  new  houses  are  of  course 
pleasanter  than  this  we  live  in,  but  it  is  furnished 
charmingly.     It  is  a  sort  of  Eden  to  me. 

*^  Love  the  children  a  little  extra  for  me. 

"Your  own 

"  Isabella!  " 

^^Kalgan,  Dec.  18,  1883. 
**  My  Dearest  Aksa  : 

"I  think  I  have  not  written  to  you  since  our  be- 
loved father  went  home.  It  seems  as  if  one  could  never 
write  letters  after  this, — we  always  wrote  to  hinij  you  and 
I.  Comfort  yourself,  dear  heart,  by  writing  down  some 
of  the  things  he  said,  some  of  the  Bible  texts  he  quoted. 
"  I  have  written  a  letter  to  the  Presbyterian  Missionary 
Society  of  Bloomington,  Minnesota,  which  I  enclose  for 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  227 

your  readiug.  I  wish  I  could  write  more  letters.  But 
far  more  than  that,  I  wish  I  might  do  more  for  these 
poor  women. 

"What  have  I  done  to-day?  Helped  our  Chinese 
woman  with  the  washing,  and  made  ready  her  sewing  for 
the  afternoon ;  led  Chinese  prayers  as  Mr.  Williams  goes 
to  the  school  for  prayers  there ;  bought  four  catties  of 
grapes  of  a  fruit  seller,  and  refused  to  buy  of  another 
fruit  seller,  but  gave  him  a  pair  of  the  children's  old 
shoes  for  his  little  boy  ;  and  read  a  story  to  the  twins, — 
they  begged  me  so  hard.  Then  I  found  some  old  clothes 
for  my  Chinese  woman's  children  (she  has  six,  like  my- 
self), and  said  some  words  to  cheer  her  and  to  turn  her 
thoughts  heavenward.  Except  that  last,  I  can't  be  said 
to  have  done  any  work  especially  for  my  Master. 

"I  took  the  twins  and  spent  a  day  with  Mrs.  Sprague 
this  week.  She  helped  me  plait  some  ruffles  for  Emily's 
dress,  as  we  visited.  Mrs.  Sprague  told  me  she  thought 
I  might  remember  in  heaven  such  work  as  makes  our 
clothes  beautiful  to  others,  as  the  plaiting  of  those  ruffles. 
I  didn't  quite  agree  with  her,  yet  I  told  her  I  was  sure 
that  Jesus  was  pleased  that  I  should  put  those  ruffles  on 
Emily's  dress.  Dressmaking  is  difficult  work  for  me,  but 
Emily  likes  to  look  nice,  and  will  be  happier  for  my  lov- 
ing labor  on  her  behalf. 

"Mary  is  deep  in  Shakespeare  these  days.  Absurd, 
but  she  enjoys  it  so  that  I  haven't  the  heart  to  suggest 
another  book.  She  is  only  eight  years  old,  and  I  really 
would  prefer  to  have  her  read  only  Lamb's  ^  Tales  of 
Shakespeare '  as  yet.  But  this  volume  has  beautiful  illus- 
trations by  Plaxman,  which  please  her.     .     .     . 

"One  of  my  Chinese  friends  came  for  me  to-day  to  go 
with  her  to  a  mandarin's  house,  to  look  at  their  newly- 
bought  sewing-machine.  But  alas,  the  book  of  directions 
was  in  Russian,  and  I   could  do  nothing  with  it !    I  will 


228  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ask  one  of  our  Eussian  friends  to  lielp  me  about  it.     You 
see  there  is  use  for  all  sorts  of  knowledge  here.     .    .     ." 

(To  her  boy  Stephen.) 

"  KalgaUj  July  8,  188 J^, 

"  I  have  been  intending  for  some  time  to  send  you  this 
letter  from  dear  *  Uncle  Hunt/  which  you  received  years 
and  years  ago,  when  you  were  a  little  boy.  I  did  not  leave 
it  with  you  when  we  came  back  to  China  because  I  feared 
you  might  not  be  old  enough  to  be  careful  of  it.  Notice 
how  kind  it  was  for  Mr.  Hunt  to  take  the  time  and  trouble 
to  print  so  much  of  the  letter.  He  loved  you  dearly, 
Stephen.  He  loves  you  still,  and  has  been  loving  you  all 
these  years.  Some  day  shall  it  be  that  your  eyes  may 
again  see  him,  and  your  ears  hear  his  kind  voice  ? 

** .  .  .  Are  you  reading  a  few  verses  in  the  Bible  by 
yourself,  every  day  ?  Do  you  sometimes  take  one  verse 
to  think  over,  after  learning  it  %  Sometimes  a  part  of  a 
verse  is  enough. 

".  .  .  Good-night,  my  Stephen  Eiggs.  You  know 
what  I  want  for  you  most  of  all.  Don't  wait.  What 
would  it  be  to  lose  heaven  ! 

"  I  gave  you  back  to  God  when  you  were  a  very  tiny 
boy.    I  want  you  to  be  His  now  and  always.     .     .     .^' 

**  Kalgarij  July  29,  188 J^. 
"MyDeab  Anna  : 

".  .  .  My  days  go  on  heart-hungry.  I  need 
more  sunshine.  It  is  the  shining  of  the  Sun  of  Eight- 
eousness  that  my  soul  needs.  ^  Eeturn,  my  soul,  unto 
thy  rest.'  Pray  too  for  me,  sister  dear,  when  you  pray 
for  your  best  beloved. 

^'  My  flowers  are  pretty  at  last.  I  have  not  a  great  va- 
riety, but  such  a  bed  of  mignonette  you  never  saw,  and 
my  verbenas  are  very  thrifty.    The  oleander  has  been 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         229 

gay  with  bloom,  and  the  Chinese  pinks  and  alyssum  sweet 
as  sweet !  The  candytuft  is  straight  and  bright- faced, 
like  a  row  of  West  Pointers.  Such  a  time  as  I  have  had 
to  raise  my  young  cadets  !  There  is  a  tiny  insect,  like 
white  dust  almost,  which  eats  at  the  roots  of  many  of  my 
flowers.  I  have  great  faith  in  matches  to  drive  these 
creatures  away. 

" .  .  .  The  danger  of  war  between  France  and 
China  is  not  yet  averted.  All  was  arranged  satisfactorily 
but  the  Chinese  troops,  according  to  the  report,  violated 
truce. 

"  i  have  been  having  not  an  easy  time  with  a  new  saw- 
ant,  sir  !  I  hate  change,  and  new  bad  things  are  not  bet- 
ter than  old  bad  ones.  You  would  have  smiled  to  see  me 
teaching  this  new  chap  to  iron.  Table  napkins  were 
folded  just  as  many  wrong  ways  as  there  are,  and  never 
right !  He  is  improving  now,  and  can  iron  the  common 
things  quite  nicely.  Ironing  seems  to  me  so  easy  that  I 
wonder  when  I  find  any  one  who  learns  so  slowly. 

*'I  have  finished  translating  the  ^  Story  of  Yeghesa,^ 
from  the  Romance  of  Missions.  The  work  has  been  a 
great  pleasure  to  me.'' 

^^Kalganj  August  7,  188^. 
^'  My  Dear  Little  Sister  Cornelia  : 

''  I  want  to  hear  from  you  and  that  beautiful  baby 
and  his  father.  It  is  long  [since  I  heard  from  you  and 
long  since  I  deserved  to  hear  from  you  as  well.  We  are 
to  write  to  each  other  for  two  reasons  : — one  is  because 
our  father,  the  house- band  of  this  house,  has  loosed  his 
hold  of  us,  according  to  our  earthly  sight  and  thought ; 
the  other  is  that  he,  not  having  loosed  his  love  away  from 
us,  will  be  glad  to  have  us  draw  closer  together.  Yes, 
he  will  be  glad  with  a  great  gladness,  if  we  speak  often 
one  to  another. 


230  BY  .THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  In  lack  of  other  letters,  I  now  and  then  read  old  ones. 
Last  week  I  read  over  yours  after  that  uncomfortable  ex- 
perience about  my  letter.  It  was  hard  then,  but  you 
have  forgotten  almost  entirely  about  it  now.  How  such 
vexations  shrivel  in  the  light  of  a  great  sorrow  !  Maybe 
I  should  have  said  '  In  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow,^ 
but  our  bereavement,  though  so  heavy,  shines  more  and 
more  with  light,  if  we  but  let  it  do  so.  Courage,  sister, 
let  us  be  worthy  children  of  our  glorified  beloved  ones. 
How  easy  to  be  unworthy ! 

^^  Our  father  once  sent  me  a  gold  dollar  while  I  was  at 
school.  It  was  folded  in  a  bit  of  paper  on  which  was  writ- 
ten ^  Looking  unto  Jesus.'  That  was  beautiful,  wasn't  it  I 
Though  so  small  a  sum  of  money,  it  was  not  small  for  him 
at  that  time.  And  he  ^  Looking  to  Jesus '  in  the  sending, 
and  yearning  over  me  that  I  might  look  to  Jesus  in  the 
receiving  and  the  spending, — don't  you  think  that  was  a 
blessed  coin  ?  I  kept  the  paper  long  as  one  of  my  pecul- 
iar treasures,  though  I  have  forgotten  how  I  spent  the 
money. 

"  That  was  the  year  of  my  great  poverty, — the  year  I 
graduated, — when  even  fifteen  cents  was  sometimes  not 
to  be  spent  lightly,  for  it  was  all  I  had.  I  wonder  now  if 
I  should  not  have  been  wiser  to  tell  somebody,  but  you 
know  that  is  not  the  Eiggs  way.  I  did  Anna  Stewart's 
washing  and  ironing,  and  she  and  I  and  our  respective 
roommates,  Mary  Bennet  and  Naomi  Diament,  kept  it  a 
profound  secret  from  the  rest  of  the  class.  I  taught 
Henry  Peabody  music, — he  had  no  ear  whatever  for 
sound, — and  I  was  woefully  disappointed  when 
Miss  Peabody  gave  me  a  chintz  dress  instead  of 
money  as  I  had  hoped.  I  needed  the  dress,  but  the 
money  would  have  been  more  useful.  Thomas  had 
a  like  experience  of  adversity  when  he  sold  his  over- 
coat. 


IN  LABORS  MOEE  ABUNDANT  231 

^'  I  rose  at  four  this  morning  and  mixed  tlie  bread, — a 
thing  I  haven't  done  for  six  months  or  more.  Our  cook 
makes  good  bread,  but  we  were  in  need,  so  I  stirred  it  up 
over  night,  and  that  means  four  o'clock  rising  for  me.  I 
wouldn't  be  inhuman  enough,  or  bold  enough,  to  wake 
him  up  at  that  hour.  He  is  a  great  sufferer  from  dyspep- 
sia and  sighs  day  in  and  day  out.     .     .     . 

*^  With  all  the  old  love,  your 

**  Isabella.'^ 

^^  Kalgauj  Nov.  3. 

" .  .  .  I  must  tell  you, — ^such  a  pity  it  is, — this 
war  between  France  and  China  is  all  owing  to  a  mistake 
of  interpreters.  After  the  first  fight  when  a  peace  was  to 
be  patched  up,  the  treaty  was  first  written  in  French,  and 
then  translated  into  Chinese.  There  was  a  clause  pro- 
viding that  the  Chinese  troops  were  to  be  withdrawn 
(from  Annam,  I  suppose).  This  was  omitted  from  the 
Chinese,  which  must  be  laid  to  the  door  of  some  French 
interpreter ! 

'^ .  .  .  It  is  one  of  my  delights  to  go  over  to  the 
Girls'  School.  I  love  the  dear  children.  Their  bright 
faces  are  a  joy  to  me.  My  schoolgirls'  lessons  are  now 
all  in  Christian  books.  I  love  dearly  to  wake  up  their 
minds.  And  I  do  feel  very  sure  that  several  of  them  love 
the  Saviour.  They  are  committing  hymns  to  memory 
now.  ^  Rejoice  and  be  glad  '  has  taken  them  a  long  time, 
and  to-morrow  they  begin  *  One  more  day's  work  for 
Jesus.'  The  hymns  are  often  harder  for  them  than  any- 
thing else.  The  rules  for  Chinese  poetry  are  very  exact- 
ing, and  since  the  hymns  will  be  sneered  at  if  they  are 
not  regarded,  simplicity  must  often  be  sacrificed.  .  .  . 
"We  have  a  new  schoolgirl,  eleven  years  of  age.  She 
came  yesterday.  Poor  thing,  her  father  beats  her  fear- 
fully,— has  broken  a  broomstick  on  her." 


232  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^  Kalgariy  Jan.  i,  1885, 
"  My  Deab  Sister  Anna  : 

*^  I  do  want  to  write  you  about  my  Girls'  School, — ■ 
not  my  school  after  this  winter.  But  I'm  just  as  happy 
in  working  for  it  as  if  it  were.  What  a  pleasure  and 
privilege  to  teach  about  Jesus  !  It  is  quickening  to  one- 
self too.  How  one  sees  with  shame  that  one's  living  is  a 
teaching  which  ought  to  match.  My  girls  are  reciting 
only  from  the  Bible  and  hymn-book.  Some  days  we 
have  such  pleasant  times.  One  of  the  girls  recited, 
^  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field.  .  .  .  Wherefore  if 
God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  shall  He  not  much 
more  clothe  you?'  I  asked  the  girls  to  name  all  the 
flowers  they  knew,  one  each  around,  and  then  around 
again.  ^  If  you  plant  aster  seeds,  do  nasturtiums  ever 
come  up  ! '  I  asked.  The  eyes  of  all  brightened.  ^  No, 
never,'  they  said.  *Who  is  it  who  keeps  the  seeds 
always  true?'  ^God,'  they  all  answered.  ^Does  He 
like  the  flowers  since  He  is  so  careful  of  them,  giving 
them  so  much  beauty?'  'I  think  He  does.'  ^ Which 
does  He  care  for  most,  for  you,  or  for  a  nasturtium  ? ' 
One  girl  insisted  that  He  liked  the  flower  the  best.  The 
others  laughed.  ^He  likes  us  most.'  ^  We're  the  most 
important.'  ^  Why  ? '  *  Yin  wei  sz  ren.^  (^  Because  we're 
human.')  ^  If  it  was  a  baby,  just  born  and  only  so  long, 
what  then?'  ^It  is  human,  too.'  ^Yes,  it  has  a  soul 
which  may  live  with  Jesus  always.  Kow  you  all  remem- 
ber how  much  God  cares  for  the  flowers,  but  how  much 
more  He  loves  you.  What  did  He  do  to  show  most  how 
He  loves  you  ? '     ^  He  sent  Jesus.' 

"  One  of  the  dearest  of  our  little  girls  has  been  taken 
away  by  her  mother  to  be  married.  I  wanted  to  see  La 
Mei  Tz  again.  I  wanted  to  sa;y,  ^  Don't  forget  to  love 
Jesus.     Don't  forget  that  He  loves  you.' 

Mrs.    Feng    told    one    of  the  women  who    came 


li 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  283 

in  yesterday,  about  when  she  first  heard  of  the  true 
God. 

**  ^  I  used  to  hear  about  the  foreigners  who  were  preach- 
ing a  new  religion,  but  never  saw  them.  It  was  not 
allowable  for  me  to  go  to  the  street  door  to  gaze.  I  was 
a  young  wife  then.  But  I  heard  some  things,  which, 
though  I  did  not  understand,  yet  set  me  thinking.  My 
father  was  a  doctor,  and  he  had  a  tablet  inscribed  in  gilt 
letters  to  the  god  of  medicine.  When  my  father  died, 
my  brothers,  having  given  up  the  apothecary  shop,  were 
very  careless  about  the  tablet,  and  finally  allowed  it  to  be 
thrown  in  a  rubbish  heap,  instead  of  burning  incense 
before  it,  on  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  every  month,  as  my 
father  had  done. 

"  ^  My  uncle  sold  bean  curd,  and  he  worshipped  a  **  hai 
fu  shen^^^  but  when  they  stopped  that  business  they  no 
longer  burned  incense  to  this  god.  I  saw  that  everybody 
did  the  same  ;  they  worshipped  only  to  forward  their  own 
interests.  I  thought,  ^ '  What  gods  are  these  that  they  are 
not  insulted  by  such  neglect  ?  "  So  I  had  my  doubts,  but 
we  always  ¥o  fou-ed  and  burnt  incense  at  the  proper  time. 
After  a  while  the  children's  father  came  home  from 
Kalgan.  As  soon  as  he  had  washed  the  dust  from  his 
face,  he  burnt  up  the  gods.  I  wasn't  pleased,  but  said 
nothing.  The  next  morning  he  left  for  Peking  (to  go  to 
the  Bible  Training  School),  and  I  thought,  ^^  If  the  gods 
are  angry,  he  will  meet  misfortunes  on  the  way."  But 
he  reached  Peking  safely.  Before  long  our  daughter  fell 
sick,  and  the  neighbors  said,  '*  This  is  because  he  burnt 
the  gods;  buy  some  more."  I  said,  ^'When  he  comes 
back,  what  will  I  do  ?  "  They  said,  "  Then  you  can  take 
the  gods  down  and  paste  them  in  a  jar."  I  thought 
now  if  I  were  pasted  up  in  a  water  jar,  I  should  die, 
and  it  certainly  would  be  an  insult  to  the  gods  to 
put  them  in  a  place  not  fit  for  me.     So  I  was  firm.     I 


234  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

think  it  was  the  Lord  who  helped  me  stand  out  against 
them  aU.» '' 

(To  her  daughter  Etta.) 

" .  .  .  Have  you  a  photograph  of  your  grandfather  ? 
I  want  yo'u  to  have  one.  I  want  you  to  study  what  you 
may  of  his  life,  and  know  all  you  can  about  him.  He 
was  faithful  and  true.  And  God  is  faithful  who  has 
given  him  an  abundant  reward  for  his  many  labors  and 
his  life  of  faith,  and  truth,  and  patience. 

*^The  more  you  as  well  as  I  think  about  the  joy  of 
heaven,  the  better  we  shall  be  prepared  for  it  when  the 
time  comes.  When  Jesus  opens  the  door  for  me,  how 
glad  I  shaJl  be.^' 

"  Kalgan,  April  22^  1885, 
*^  Dear  Anna  : 

*'  I  send  you  my  note  to  Martha.  There's  little  in 
it  but  love,  and  I  send  you  just  the  same.  What  should 
I  do  without  my  sisters,  surely  ! 

**Fvebeen  having  some  changes  made  in  our  outer 
yard,  so  as  to  give  our  servant's  family  a  more  healthful 
place,  and  though  I've  not  directed  the  workmen,  I  have 
had  to  decide  about  things  and  have  been  too  busy  to 
have  any  brain  for  writing. 

"  Our  cook's  poor,  invalid  boy  will  now  have  a  bright, 
sunny  room,  with  two  glass  windows.  I  hope  the  better 
rooms  and  the  sunny  windows  will  work  for  Jesus.  The 
repairs  are  done  with  my  money.  It  is  not  much,  but 
I've  done  it  ^for  Christ's  sake.'  " 

^^  August  15  J  1885. 
".     .     .     How  rich  you  were  this  spring  with  the  plum 
and  the  crab-apple  blossoms.     I  could  almost  envy  you, 
only  that  I  find  envy  never  makes  any  one  happier.     I 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  235 

can  feel  what  reverent  ecstasy  would  have  filled  me,  had 
I  seen  your  beautiful  treasures,  and  I  thank  God  for  you. ' 
They  were  His  message  to  you  for  your  especial  need. 
When  you  were  glad  in  their  beauty,  He  meant  that  you 
should  be  glad.  He  meant  to  soothe  and  rest  you.  He 
meant  to  have  you  know  that  He  has  prepared  fairer 
things  for  you  at  home.  His  wealth  of  gifts  in  this  world, 
gifts  which  often  no  one  receives  and  no  one  cares  for, — 
means  just  that  for  you  and  for  me,  and  for  all  who  love 
Him.  I  feel  sure  that  He  has  for  you  an  extra  tender- 
ness of  love  because  our  father  is  away. 

"  When  we  were  out  in  Mongolia  last  week,  those  hills 
and  valleys  so  richly  adorned  with  flowers  said  to  me 
these  things  and  many  more.  In  many  places  the  ground 
was  starred  with  a  tiny  plant.  What  a  dear,  beautiful, 
perfect  thing  its  one  blossom  was !  God  knows  about 
each  tiny  flower  j  knows  about  each  hardly  visible  seed. 

**  The  edelweiss  is  very  abundant  in  Mongolia.  I  will 
send  you  some  blossoms  and  buds.  Mourning-brides, 
larkspurs,  pinks,  forget-me-nots,  a  small  purple  iris, 
sweet-scented  goldenrod,  butter- and-eggs,  a  purple  snap- 
dragon, two  varieties  of  potentilla, — all  these  and  many 
more  we  found  blossoming  on  the  plains  and  hills.    .    .    .^' 

"  December  15,  1885. 

**  I  fear  it  is  too  long  since  I  wrote  you,  and  what  can  I 
do  to  make  up  ?  By  the  time  that  I  get  fairly  started, 
the  schoolboys  will  come  to  sing  ! 

"We  had  a  little  boy  here  who  lived  with  the  cook^s 
family  and  went  to  school.  He  has  gone  home,  and  I'm 
going  to  send  for  him  again  lest  my  plan  of  giving  him 
a  lift  in  the  line  of  education  should  fall  through.  He 
seems  such  a  nice  boy.  IVe  had  bedding  made  for  him, 
and  his  mother  and  I  are  to  share  the  expense  of  board- 
ing him.'' 


236  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

^^  Afternoon. 

*^Well,  the  boys  had  their  sing,  and  since  then  Lu 
Yuan  has  been  copying  Bible  verses  for  me  on  some 
cards  I  want  to  give  the  school  children.  He  has  now 
left  off  opium  for  a  long  time,  and  he  told  me  to-day 
how  sorry  he  was  that  he  had  ^sinned  against  us^  so 
much  when  he  lived  here.  He  meant  in  taking  things. 
An  opium  user  is  a  slave  bound  hand  and  foot  by  the 
devil.  There  is  nothing  he  will  not  do.  If  this  young 
man  truly  loves  Jesus,  he  will  be  kept.  What  may  he 
not  do  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  China  if  he  is  a  true 
Christian. 

^*This  is  a  dull  day.  When  the  sun  shines  brightly, 
there  is  a  perfect  flood  of  glory  filling  our  room. 

^^Love  me  and  pray  for  me,  my  Anna,  and  PU  love 
and  pray  for  you.  Always  your 

^^  Isabella. '* 

"  Kalgan,  Feb,  10,  1886. 
*'  My  Dear  Sistee  Anna  : 

**  I  want  to  hear  from  you  so  much  this  winter. 

^^  Yesterday  two  schoolgirls  and  a  little  brother  came 
to  see  me,  and  I  sang  with  them,  and  lent  them  two 
hymn-books  so  that  they  could  sing  to  their  mothers. 

' '  We  were  invited  to  a  ^  capercailzie  dinner  ^  with  Dr. 
Murdock  and  Miss  Diament.  Some  Eussian  patients  had 
given  this  immense  bird  to  the  doctor.  It  is  called 
*  cock-of-the- woods '  or  capercailzie,  and  is  as  large  as  a 
turkey,  and  as  delicious.  When  I  told  our  cook  of  it  this 
morning,  he  was  ready  with  a  proverb,  as  usual.  ^  Tien, 
nge;  t'i,  pu,' — (^heaven,  goose;  earth,  capercailzie,') 
meaning  that  of  the  birds  flying  in  the  sky,  the  goose  is 
the  best ;  and  of  those  on  the  ground,  this  bird  with  the 
queer  long  name  takes  front  rank. 

"  A  Chinese  woman  has  just  come  in,  and  I  shall  at 


IN  LABOES  MORE  ABUNDANT  237 

least  have  to  listen  with  one  ear  to  her,  while  I  scribble  a 
bit  to  you.  The  schoolgirls  will  be  in  soon,  and  then 
comes  the  weekly  prayer-meeting,  and  the  mail  must  go 
immediately  after. 

"I  have  a  purple  verbena  which  has  just  blossomed 
and  a  lovely  pansy  plant.  I  can^t  spare  all  my  windows 
for  plants, — ^my  olive  plants  must  have  their  light ! 

"The  forty-sixth  anniversary  of  my  birthday,  and  the 
twentieth  of  our  wedding  day  comes  on  apace.  We  shall 
want  the  Roberts,  Miss  Diament  and  Dr.  Murdock  to 
help  us  celebrate.'^ 

The  China  Wedding  of  Mark  and  Isabella 
Williams,  Feb.  21,  1866-1886 

In  China,  one  can  plainly  see, 
Should  China  weddings  always  be  ; 
Unnoticed  hitherto  have  been 
Our  weddings,  wooden,  crystal,  tin. 
Assemble,  friends,  around  our  board 
List  to  the  tale  in  memory  stored ; 
This  natal  and  this  wedding  day 
Marks  a  new  milestone  in  life's  way. 

To-day,  just  twenty  years  ago, 
We  glided  o'er  the  crispy  snow. 
The  great  church  bell,  with  clangor  loud, 
Had  summoned  swift  an  eager  crowd ; 
Silent  they  sat,  and  did  us  scan, 
As  we  the  church-aisle  gauntlet  ran. 
Then  we  before  the  pastor  stood. 
In  prime  of  man  and  womanhood ; 
Repeated  each  the  solemn  vow ; 
('Twas  binding  then,  'tis  binding  now,) 
To  cherish,  keep,  protect  and  love. 
Till  death  remove  our  souls  above. 

Of  those  who  in  that  crowd  were  found, 
To-day,  some  stand  on  mission  ground  ; 
Perhaps  to  them,  our  silent  deed 
Was  like  a  grain  of  goodly  seed, 


238  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Which,  in  their  hearts,  then  taking  root, 
Grew,  and  produced  thereafter  fruit. 

It  was  but  twenty  years  ago  ; 

The  scars  of  war  were  healing  slow ; 

We  bade  our  native  laud  farewell, 

And  ventured  on  the  billow's  swell 

In  slender,  graceful  clipper  ship. 

That  promised  us  a  speedy  trip ; 

One  hundred  days  had  passed  away, 

Ere  we  caught  sight  of  old  Cathay. 

We  slowly  crept  along  the  coast, 

The  hot  air  stifled  us  almost ; 

At  length  slow  Peiho's  stream  within 

We  anchor  cast  at  Tsz  Chu  Lin ; 

Here  would  we  stop,  nor  longer  roam  ; 

This  place  we  planned  should  be  our  home. 

At  journey's  end,  with  gratitude, 
^  We  turned  us  to  our  "  Daily  Food  " ; 

And  courage  filled  us  as  we  read 
The  portion  for  the  day,  which  said, 
"  If  thou  do  good,  and  trust  God's  hand, 
Thou  shalt  dwell  safely  in  the  land  ; 
In  time  of  famine  shalt  be  fed, 
And  always  by  His  eye  be  led. " 

We  struggled  hard  with  inward  groans, 

To  speak  correctly  all  the  tones, 

To  get  the  northern  mandarin, 

Clear  cut,  as  spoken  at  Tientsin. 

In  broken  China  was  our  talk. 

Slow  we  progressed,  with  many  a  balk« 

But  now  uprose  the  pillar  cloud. 
And  spoke  a  voice  in  accents  loud, 
'*  Tarry  ye  not  in  all  the  plain." 
****** 
Not  heedless  of  the  high  behest, 
We  turned  our  footsteps  to  the  west ; 
Zigzagging  o'er  the  mountains  tall, 
We  saw  the  famous  Chinese  wall. 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  239 

Throngh  rocky  gap,  brisk  commerce  flows, 
Men  flock  for  wealth, — a  city  grows, 
Where  Mongols  come  their  goods  to  barter 
And  shopmen  strive  to  catch  a  Tartar. 

Here  we  have  dwelt  a  score  of  years, 
And  memory  the  place  endears  ; 
Young  olive  plants  around  us  stand. 
In  number  half  of  Jacob's  band ; 
On  shorter  catechism  bred, 
On  healthful  highland  oatmeal  fed  ; 
Shall  it  be  said  of  them  when  grown, 
That  Kalgan  children  lack  backbone  ? 

When  wilting  in  the  summer  heat, 
The  Peking  pilgrim  turns  his  feet 
To  cooler  climes,  we  stop  his  quest, 
And  welcome  give  the  weary  guest; 
He  from  Mt.  Williams'  lofty  seat, 
May  see  the  city  at  his  feet. 
Then  he  should  form  a  well  fixed  plan 
To  quaff  the  spring  at  Tsz  Er  Shan ; 
His  fainting  strength  he  will  renew. 
Beneath  the  shade  at  Yung  Feng  Bn. 

If  tired  of  the  haunts  of  men, 
Let  him  retreat  to  Gulick's  Glen, 
The  place  of  all  the  world  the  best, 
To  picnic  with  invited  guest ; 
In  shadow  of  the  mountain  tall. 
Beside  the  gorge's  mossy  wall. 
Amidst  the  craggy  rocks  we  view, 
The  lily  red,  the  larkspur  blue. 
When  food  and  rest  our  strength  restore, 
We  can  mysterious  caves  explore, 
A  home  for  bandits  fierce  to  dwell, 
Or  fitting  place  for  hermit  cell. 

Ascending  now  to  Mongol  land. 
On  Hannore's  signal  towers  we  stand ; 
Made  by  some  lost,  mysterious  race. 
Whose  warlike  habits  here  we  trace ; 


24:0  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

The  columns  tall  of  signal  smoke, 
Full  five  score  miles  the  danger  spoke. 

Lo,  what  a  scene  of  grandeur  wild, 
Bleak  mountain  on  bleak  mountain  piled, 
And  stretching  in  a  billowy  maze, 
Far  as  bewildered  eye  can  gaze. 

But  come  we  now  to  Mongol  plains, 
Eefreshed  by  timely  summer  rains. 
And  covered  o'er  with  verdure  green, 
Where  countless  flocks  and  herds  are  seen ; 
The  Mongol  on  his  hardy  steed, 
Rides  swift  around  at  breakneck  speed ; 
Within  the  fold,  the  vast  herds  go, 
And  rest  secure  from  prowling  foe. 

Then  we,  who  have  a  curious  bent. 
Will  wish  to  see  the  nomad's  tent ; 
So  nearing  with  a  loud  mendu. 
We  bring  the  host  his  guest  to  view. 
Who  barking  dogs  sends  to  the  rear, 
And  bids  us  lay  aside  our  fear. 
The  traveller  will  thirsty  be. 
And  drink  with  relish  poor  brick  tea, 
Or  take  instead,  if  thus  he  please, 
A  cup  of  milk  and  fresh  made  cheese. 
The  guest  who  all  those  sights  has  seen, 
Will  not  forget  our  mountains  green ; 
But  joyfully  will  he  repeat, 
His  visit  to  our  cool  retreat. 

Loved  parents,  since  our  marriage  day, 
To  higher  realms  have  passed  away. 
We  often  walking  through  the  street, 
Old  faces  miss,  new  faces  meet. 
Men  quickly  come,  they  quickly  go, 
Probation's  short  to  all  below. 
The  harvest  fields  are  fully  white, 
Fast  flies  the  day,  quick  comes  the  night ; 
The  chief,  who  moved  a  million  men. 
By  word  of  mouth  or  stroke  of  pen, 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  241 

Has  yielded  up  his  mortal  breath 
A  victim  to  the  conquerer,  death. 

Perhaps  ere  loug,  the  steam  car's  wheel 
Will  rumble  o'er  its  tracks  of  steel; 
Eveu  DOW  we  see  electric  fire, 
Flash  messages  across  the  wire. 
The  beds  of  coal ,  and  iron  ore, 
Now  hid  in  earth, — a  boundless  store, 
Shall  in  the  flaming  furnace  glow, 
And  wealth  on  China's  sons  bestow. 

See  scores  of  willing  workers  sent, 
To  enlighten  the  dark  continent, 
And  of  Christ's  army,  in  the  van 
Comes  pressing  on  a  new  Japan. 
The  hermit  nation  does  not  refuse, 
The  offer  of  the  Gospel  news  ; 
In  China's  every  province  now, 
To  the  true  God  some  humbly  bow, 
Though  many  years  may  intervene, 
Before  Christ's  triumph  shall  be  seen. 

When  comes  the  time,  foes  then  shall  find, 
That  hell  gate  has  been  undermined; 
In  secret  chambers  out  of  sight. 
Is  hid  celestial  dynamite. 
Then  suddenly  with  lightning  flash, 
Obstructions  crumble  with  a  crash  ; 
Lo,idol  temples  tottering  fall, 
And  flat  lies  superstition's  wall. 

Our  life  thus  far,  has  all  been  spent, 
In  quiet,  peace  and  calm  content ; 
Our  labor  never  can  be  lost. 
The  end  will  pay  for  all  the  cost ; 
No  generous  deed,  no  earnest  prayer 
Or  word  shall  vanish  in  the  air  ; 
Each  in  the  grand  result  shall  tell. 
And  answer  God's  good  purpose  well. 
In  famine,  plague  and  war's  alarm. 
This  promise  kept  us  free  from  harm  j 


242  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'  *  Close  by  thy  side  shall  thousands  fall, 
But  it  shall  not  thy  soul  appall ; 
In  noonday  heat,  in  deadly  night, 
No  fear  of  death  shall  thee  afEright, 
In  perfect  peace  his  soul  shall  be, 
Who  trusts  himself,  O  Lord,  to  Thee/* 

To  us  'twas  given  to  respond. 
To  call  from  regions  far  beyond ; 
The  thought  that  most  our  spirit  cheers, 
Is  that  we're  Gospel  pioneers. 

On  mission  field  we've  spent  life's  prime, 
To  us  remains  brief  space  of  time. 
Onward  we'll  go  as  we've  begun. 
Immortal  till  our  work  is  done. 

— Mark  Williams,  KalgaUj  North  China. 


^^Kalgan,  Aug.  17,  1886. 
"  My  Dear  Little  Sister  : 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  had  written  you  a  great  many  letters 
since  your  little  daughter  came,  but  cannot  be  sure  about 
them.  If  I  have  not  written  any,  I  am  very  sorry.  There 
are  only  two  things  I  can  do  for  you,  dear,  and  it  is  not 
right  to  neglect  even  one  of  them.     .     .     . 

^'I  am  always  wanting  to  pray  for  papa,  that  some 
new  joy  may  come  to  him  in  the  heavenly  home.  His 
life  on  earth  was  one  of  such  toil  and  self-denial,  that  I 
am  sure  our  King  delights  to  honor  him  now.  When 
this  thought  rushes  over  me,  there  is  an  answer  of  half 
rebuke  and  half  comfort, — always  the  same — it  is  always 
the  same, — 'Pray  for  his  grandchildren.  There  can  be 
no  greater  joy  for  him  than  .that  they  should  be  wholly 
the  Lord^s.'     .     .     . 

"  I  have  had  pasting  parties  for  eight  of  our  schoolboys, 
four  at  a  time.  Each  set  had  to  come  twice  to  finish  their 
books.     The  first  four  had  Appleton^s  Journals  to  paste 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  243 

in ;  the  last  four  had  Missionary  Heralds  (duplicate 
copies).  .  .  .  The  boys  who  come  to  the  singing  class 
are  some  of  them  really  learning  to  sing  !  Some  still 
growl  away  on  one  pitch,  but  I  was  greatly  encouraged 
with  the  others  yesterday. 

^^It  rains  a  great  deal — almost  every  day,  in  fact,  and 
our  court  begins  to  look  like  Mariana's  Moated  Grange. 
I  shall  be  glad  of  clear  weather  again.  .  .  .  When 
the  clouds  are  black  and  the  thunder  mutters,  generally 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  fly  around,  put  in 
paper  windows,  and  set  the  flower  pots  around  the  stone 
walk  so  that  they  may  not  be  stranded  in  the  muddy  lake 
that  fills  our  porch." 


''Kalgan.Sept.  2,  1886. 
^* Dear  Cornelia: 

'  *  We  have  j ust  received  the  Revised  Bible.  I  have 
also  an  Old  Testament  with  larger  print  to  suit  my  old 
eyes.  I  have  morning  prayers  with  the  girls,  while 
Mr.  Williams  has  Chinese  prayers.  Two  of  us  have 
the  revised  version,  and  two  or  three  have  the  old 
Bibles.     .     .    . 

*^Did  I  ever  tell  you  that  we  bought  a  vase  of  crackle 
ware  which  was  a  genuine  one,  belonging  to  the  time  of 
Kang  Hsi  or  Chien  Lung  or  somebody  ?  Mr.  Holcombe 
took  it  home  to  America  for  us,  and  sold  it  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Kalgan  chapel.^  The  proceeds,  forty-five  dollars, 
are  a  great  boon  to  us  in  this  time  of  retrenchment.    .     .    . 

"Your  loving 

"Isabella." 

*Mr.  Chester  Holcombe,  well  known  as  the  anthor  of  "The  Real 
Chinaman  "  and  many  sketches  of  Chinese  life,  had  been  connected  with 
the  North  China  Mission,  but  was  at  this  time  secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Legation  in  Peking. 


244  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^'Kalganj  Sept  21  j  1886, 
"My  Dear  Beothee  Egbert  : 

"  It  is  long  since  I  wrote  to  you.  For  our  father^  s 
sake  I  write  this  morning.  He  would  be  sorry  to  have 
us  forget  each  other.  And  besides  the  thought  of  his  be- 
ing made  sorry,  there  was  once  a  dear  little  boy  who  in  a 
peculiar  sense  belonged  to  me  as  a  great  treasure,  my 
greatest  treasure.  For  that  little  boy's  sake  (that  little 
lad  who  is  mine,  and  whom  no  one  can  ever  take  away), 
for  his  sake,  let  me  write  to  the  man  who  was  once  ^  Lad- 
die.' 

"  I  am  sitting  alone,  and  it  is  odd  to  be  so  silent  and 
alone.  Mr.  Williams  and  the  girls  have  gone  to  dine  at 
Hhe  Captain's'  on  the  occasion  of  his  wife's  birthday. 
This  afternoon  I  am  expecting  a  visit  from  Hsin  Wu,  one 
of  our  former  schoolgirls.  She  came  here  when  about  ten 
years  old,  was  married  at  sixteen,  and  has  two  boys,  who 
are  homely  with  smallpox  marks.  She  has  had  a  hard 
time.  I  want  to  give  her  a  bit  of  pleasantness,  and  find 
out  if  her  soul  is  awake.  If  she  will  accept  a  Saviour 
nowj  my  work  for  her  will  not  have  been  in  vain.  Other- 
wise the  foundation  laid  will  prove  to  have  been  of  hay 
and  stubble,  worthy  only  to  be  burned.  It  is  a  solemn 
thing  to  come  to  a  place  in  life  where  one  may  see  one's 
work  burned  up, — worse  than  that,  if  worse  is  possible. 
This  woman's  sister  is  lost.  She  was  only  seven  when 
she  came  to  me,  a  very  trying  child,  with  the  seed  of  evil 
in  her,  but  so  young  a  child, — a  better,  a  more  loving 
woman  than  I  might  have  been  used  by  God  to  save  her. 
— I  did  not  mean  to  write  this— I  had  hoped  to  give  you  a 
bit  of  pleasantness  too,  and  instead  this. 

"I  am  trying  to  help  Mr.  Williams  with  his  boys. 
We  have  a  singing  class  once  a  week.  I  have  some  of 
them  also  for  a  short  time  on  Sundays,  just  before  service. 
I  have  had  four  scrap-book  parties  this  summer,  and 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  245 

thirteen  of  the  older  boys  have  finished  their  books.  The 
pictures  delight  them.  One  little  girl,  who  was  in  Miss 
Diament's  school  when  it  was  in  my  charge,  has  made  a 
picture  book  under  Emily's  supervision.  These  are  little 
things,  but  little  things  may  be  the  beginning  of  greater 
ones.  I  know  that  the  boys  and  I  stand  on  a  better  basis 
than  before.  The  pictures  give  opportunity  for  friendly 
talk  and  some  real  teaching. 

^*My  asters  are  still  gay,  though  a  little  past  their 
prime.  Our  geraniums  and  verbenas  are  doing  their  duty 
nobly.  I  have  given  away  a  good  many  rooted  slips  and 
some  cuttings,  and  am  rooting  some  verbenas  for  our 
landlady.  Anything  which  will  establish  friendly  rela- 
tions between  us  and  this  people  is  not  to  be  slighted, 
even  down  to  the  little  cotton  cloth  doll  we  made  one  day 
for  our  carpenter's  little  girl.  He  has  a  cordial  smile  for 
me  ever  since. 

"  (Hsin  Wu  has  come,  and  is  reading  to  me  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Luke.)  My  eyes  are  far  from  strong.  Some- 
times the  writing  of  a  single  letter  will  cause  terrible  pain 
for  hours.  It  is  so  when  I  write  at  night,  generally. 
Spectacles  ease  me  much,  so  I  use  them  often.  I  garden 
in  my  little  flower  bed  and  in  my  array  of  pots,  and  do 
more  housework  than  I  used  to  do.  Sewing  I  leave  out 
as  far  as  possible. 

*^  I  forget  whether  I  sent  you  pictures  of  the  monsters 
which  were  around  eating  up  us  foreigners  during  the  war 
with  the  French.  If  I  did,  you  can  give  them  to  some 
lover  of  the  hideous,  if  you  can  find  such  a  being.  You 
may  get  a  gleam  of  pleasure  by  thinking  how  many  mil- 
lions of  Chinese  have  seen  these  pictures  with  delight  and 
satisfaction.  '  Put  yourself  in  his  place  '  (that  of  the 
average  Chinaman),  and  think  how  stern  justice  demands 
the  death  of  your  brother  and  sister  as  being  'foreign 
devils.'     .    .    .    Just  there  I  stopped  trying  to  do  two 


246  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

things  at  once,  and  read  with  Hsin  Wu  through  the  fifth 
chapter  of  Luke. 

"  I  have  some  plans  for  one  or  two  of  our  dirty  boys. 
My  plans  don^t  lie  in  the  line  of  buying  them  new  clothes 
or  of  scrubbing  them  up,  as  once  I  should  have  tried  to 
do.  If  I  succeed,  the  result  will  come  slowly,  but  more 
surely.  We  must  at  first  be  repelled  by  the  filthy  cloth- 
ing and  persons  of  those  we  meet,  but  we  gain  later  a 
true  sense  of  the  fact  that  the  hour  for  saving  these  souls  is 
passing  fast.  If  we  can  bring  them  to  Christ,  other 
changes,  oh,  so  small  in  comparison,  will  come  after- 
wards. 

**  Some  medicine  is  called  for  which  I  can  give,  so  I 
will  not  send  the  folks  down  town  to  Dr.  Murdock. 
"  Your  sister  as  in  the  old  days, 

"  Isabella  E.  Willlims.^' 

"  *  Mission  Meeting j^  Tungchou,  May  16,  1887. 
** Dear  Etta: 

"  I  am  stealing  a  few  minutes  during  business 
meeting  to  write  to  you.  The  revision  of  Dr.  Williams' 
dictionary  is  just  now  being  discussed.  Mr.  Arthur 
Smith  keeps  us  all  laughing,  no  matter  what  the  subject. 

"  I  have  been  deeply  interested  in  the  reports  given  by 
the  Chinese  helpers.  Eung  Hsien  Sheng  of  Peking,  who 
has  been  here  all  the  years  since  we  came,  and  who  re- 
members when  you  were  a  sunny,  gold-haired  baby,  said 
that  they  had  much  hope  that  the  children  lately  received 
into  the  church  might  be  like  the  new  shoots  of  a  tree, 
which  bear  more  fruit  than  do  the  old,  scarred  branches. 

**  Another  helper  told  of  an  inquirer  who  said,  *  I  fear 
I  cannot  get  rich  if  I  become  a  Christian.  I  will  wait. 
When  I  am  rich,  I  will  then  decide.'  Our  Kalgan  helper 
told  of  perils  from  cold  and  snow  when  out  on  a  tour 
selling  Bibles.    He  saw  two  lean  and  hungry  Cassius- 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  247 

wolves.  The  village  people  said,  ^Do  not  kill  them! 
They  are  gods,  and  do  not  eat  men.^  The  next  day  one 
man  was  killed  and  another  fatally  injured. 

<<For  Tangchou,  Chao  Hsien  Sheng  spoke.  Great 
cause  for  encouragement.  Sixteen  had  been  received 
into  the  Church  and  thirteen  children  baptized.  '  But 
the  dew  is  not  enough  :  we  need  a  rain.'  Another  helper 
told  of  a  man  who  was  favorable  in  part  to  the  ^  doctrine,' 
but  did  not  like  to  kneel.  So  the  helpers,  when  he  was 
present,  would  make  the  prayers  short,  and  the  preach- 
ing long  !  This  man  gave  fifteen  dollars  towards  a  vil- 
lage chapel. 

"  We  had  a  most  interesting  discussion  on  Confucian- 
ism. Chao  Hsien  Sheng  said,  '  There  are  no  Chinese  who 
do  not  lie.  The  root  of  this  is  in  Confucianism.  Con- 
fucius and  Mencius  told  lies  in  little  things,  and  people 
now  defend  themselves  by  the  example  of  the  sages.  I 
will  not  say  that  no  Western  people  tell  lies,  but  our  mis- 
sionaries never  do.  If  the  Chinese  become  Christians, 
they  will  become  true.' 

"  Mr.  Blodget  said,  '  Let  us  not  attack  Confucianism. 
Let  us  preach  Christ,  and  let  the  Confacianists  alone. 
But  if  they  bring  on  a  discussion  we  must  be  ready  for  it.' 

**The  painter,  Ren  Hsui  Hai,  spoke  on  the  subject, 
^  Helping  People  to  Realize  their  Sins.'  He  said,  '  We 
must  preach,  John  did  not  stay  in  a  cave,  but  came  out 
to  the  Jordan.  And  we  must  be  like  Christ  in  our 
preaching.  In  fish-catching,  men  use  small  strings  and 
hooks.  If  one  used  a  great  rope,  and  several  pounds  of 
meat,  throwing  it  in  with  a  heavy  splash,  he  would  scare 
away  the  fish.  You  must  preach  of  the  love  of  God. 
You  must  not  always  be  telling  men  they  are  wicked. 
Show  a  sympathizing  heart  j  show  your  pity  and  your 
love,  and  men  will  listen  to  you.  Then  press  home  their 
sin  and  the  need  of  salvation.'     Mr.  ShefSeld  spoke  of 


248  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Finney ;  how  he  showed  heaven  and  hell  and  man's  sin, 
and  yet  with  the  utmost  tenderness." 

''May  25,  1887. 
'*  Business  meeting  closed  yesterday,  and  we  took  the 
children  for  a  picnic  and  boat  ride  up  the  canal.  We 
went  a  little  beyond  Pa  Li  Ohiao,  and  spread  our  supper 
in  a  graveyard.  The  graveyards  are  the  only  beautiful 
places  in  China.     .     .     .'' 

In  the  spring  of  1887  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roberts  left  for 
their  furlough  in  America,  and  it  seemed  best  to  move 
from  the  home  in  the  Upper  City  to  help  in  the  work 
carried  on  at  the  new  mission  compound,  ^'Bethel," 
three  miles  distant,  and  nearer  the  Lower  City. 

(Journal  written  just  before  moving  to  Bethel.) 

'^  August  31st, 

"  I  am  anxious  to  see  all  my  Chinese  friends  before  we 
go.  Five  women  and  two  children  called  to-day.  (I 
never  count  babies  or  any  under  seven  years.)'* 

^"^  September  1st, 

^^Went  with  the  cook's  wife  to  see  Er  Ku  Tzu's 
mother,  and  had  a  good  visit.  I  like  her.  Her  little 
girl  has  never  seen  foreigners,  and  was  frightened  when 
I  asked  if  she  would  not  like  to  come  to  our  Girls' 
School.  She  cried  so  hard  that  I  thought  we  should 
have  to  come  away  before  we  began  talking  about  the 
Bible. 

^*  This  afternoon  I  went  to  Ch'i  Kan  Yuan,  and  visited 
our  landlady's  sister-in-law.  She  and  her  two  hsi-fers 
(* brides'  or  sou's  wives)  were  very  kind.  I  told  them 
the  Story.  *  How  can  any  one  not  believe  ? '  said  she. 
Next  I  visited  one  of  the  women  who  was  here  yesterday. 
Six  or  eight  women  and  many  children  came  in.     They 


IN  LABOES  MOEE  ABUNDANT  249 

talked  and  asked  questions,  and  then  for  a  while  you 
could  have  heard  a  pin  drop, — they  were  so  still  while  I 
spoke.  It  seemed  so  strange.  Presently  a  Manchu,  the 
landlord,  came  into  the  court  and  talked  angrily.  Some- 
thing was  the  matter,  and  I  rose  to  go.  He  had  as  good 
as  ordered  me  off,  but  they  did  not  tell  me  until  we  were 
outside  his  court.  One  woman,  an  elderly  one,  who  had 
listened  all  the  time,  said,  ^  Stay,  stay  ! '  A  dear  little 
girl  listened  all  the  time,  too.'' 

^^  Saturday  J  Sept.  3d. 

*^  To-day  I  went  to  five  houses,  first  to  see  an  ailing 
woman.  I  told  her  to  go  on  Tuesday  to  Dr.  Murdock, 
but  gave  her  some  medicine  to  use  till  then.  I  spoke  to 
her  of  our  Saviour.  I  visited  next  He  Wan  Cheng's 
house,  and  saw  the  old  man  and  his  Jm-fer.  The  sons 
came  in.  I  talked  with  all  of  them  of  Jesus.  The  father 
said,  '  You  came  in  the  spring  to  see  my  wife.  Now  you 
have  come  again,  but  she  is  not  here.'  The  youngest  son 
promised  to  come  to  our  school  next  year.  I  will  send 
him  our  Christian  primer,  the  San  Tzu  Ching,  and  have 
him  begin  it  now. 

**  I  went  back  a  few  steps,  at  the  call  of  two  or  three,  to 
another  court.  Two  men  asked  for  medicine  and  I  told 
them  of  our  dispensary.  Next  I  went  to  see  Ma  Tzu  Fu's 
sister,  a  kind  and  cordial  woman.  I  had  an  urgent  invi- 
tation to  go  into  another  home  in  the  same  court,  the 
home  of  a  woman  who  had  been  to  see  me  several  times, 
years  ago.  She  was  very  friendly.  She  remembered 
Etta  and  Stephen,  and  was  disappointed  that  I  did  not 
recognize  her.  Will  God  in  very  truth  use  me  to  plant 
seeds?" 

^^  Sunday,  Sept.  J/th. 

"Three  calls.  Went  to  Chin  Niu's.  Several  young 
women  came  in.  I  had  with  me  the  pictures  of  the  Na- 
tivity and  the  Crucifixion,  which  helped  me  tell  the  story. 


250  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Loa  Tsai  Feng's  wife  invited  me  in.  Also  went  into  Mrs. 
Hang's.  I  showed  the  pictures  and  told  their  story  in 
both  houses.     Did  not  have  time  to  go  to  Min  Nai  Nai's. 

I  must  go  again.'' 

^^  Monday,  Sept.  5th, 

"Our  landlady  is  cultivating  a  friendship  with  me. 
She  brought  in  a  nice  young  woman  to-day,  saying, 
^She  can  read.  Tell  her  about  Jesus.  I  will  listen.' 
The  young  woman  read  slowly  and  correctly  a  few  verses, 
ending  with  *  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,  because  He 
shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins.'  I  read  and  told 
of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  ;  of  the  raising  of  the 
dead,  Jairus'  daughter,  the  widow  of  Nain's  son,  and 
Lazarus, — then  of  the  Crucifixion  and  the  Resurrection — 
(I  never  tell  of  one  unless  there  is  full  time  to  tell  of  the 
other). 

"  I  was  so  glad  of  only  two  women.  A  houseful  is  des- 
perate,— what  can  one  do  ?  But  the  Pei  Kwo  Tai-tai 
came  in.  We  were  at  her  house  last  week.  Perhaps  I 
did  not  pay  her  quite  enough  attention  this  time.  But 
she  will  come  again.     She  is  one  of  my  friends." 

"  Tuesday,  Sept  6th. 

"I  was  sick  and  could  not  go  anywhere.  The  cook's 
wife  went  in  my  place  to  see  Er  Ku  Tzu's  mother.  She 
was  busy  making  shoe  soles,  and  did  not  read  as  she  did 
on  Sunday,  but  she  listened  while  her  son  read.  The 
father  listened  well.  He  can  read  and  write  and  is  teach- 
ing his  son  the  San  Tzu  Ching  and  Pai  Chia  Hsing. 
These  people  interest  me." 

^^  Thursday,  Sept.  8th. 

"  Pei  Kwo  Tai-tai  came  in  to  sit  a  while,  bringing  her 
grandchild.     I  was  rushing  some  sewing." 

^''Saturday,  Sept.  10th. 

"  I  have  been  planning  all  week  to  go  to  Wang  Mn 
Chiang's,  and  at  last  accomplished  it.     Visited  three 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  251 

families  and  was  treated  well.     This  afternoon,  while  I 

was  getting  ready  to  go  to  a  funeral,  I  had  a  call  from  a 

woman  and  her  two  children.     A  pleasant  woman,  but 

such  a  talker !    No  use  of  my  trying  to  get  in  a  word 

edgewise  1 

"  I  have  learned  two  Chinese  proverbs  : — 

^*^Ren  ai,   Shen  ai,^    ('Whom  men  love,   the  gods 

love,0  and 

*'  *Hao  ti  hwo  pu  chang.     Lao  ti  hwo  chien  nien.' 

(^The  good  live  not  long.     The  bad  live  a  thousand 

years-O'^ 

"  Tuesday^  Sept.  13th, 

"Yesterday  I  made  and  received  no  calls,  but  read 
eight  chapters  in  Eomans  with  the  teacher.  Too  tired 
to  do  anything  else.  This  morning  we  had  our  second 
breakfast  for  the  schoolboys.  We  invited  eight  boys 
this  time.  It  is  so  much  better  to  have  only  a  few  each 
time.  I  cannot  control,  or  instruct,  or  amuse  twenty-seven 
boys  at  once. 

*'Two  girls  came  to  call.  One  promises  to  go  to  the 
Bethel  School.  This  afternoon  I  have  had  my  geography 
class  of  six  boys  and  singing  class  afterwards.  Too  tired 
to  eat  supper,  but  managed  to  take  enough  to  keep  from 
being  faint." 

^^  September  16th. 

"Singing  class." 

^^  Saturday,  Sept  17th, 

"  Had  a  good  review  in  geography  with  my  boys  this 
morning.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  I  can  teach  geography 
if  it  is  in  Wen  Li.  (The  language  of  the  Chinese  scholar 
and  official.)  " 

^^  Sunday,  Sept.  18th. 

"I read  with  my  old  friend,  Martha  Gulick's  mother, 
to-day.  She  is  making  wonderful  progress  in  her  Bible 
Primer.  I  hear  her  recite,  and  explain  it  to  her,  and 
she  listens  so  eagerly." 


BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

(Years  before,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gulick,  on  one  of  their 
tours,  had  been  given  a  baby  girl.  The  mother  was  so 
wretchedly  poor  that  she  was  glad  to  have  the  mission- 
aries save  her  child  from  starvation.  The  little  girl, 
Martha,  grew  up  in  the  Gulick  home,  was  sent  to 
America  and  to  Mt.  Holyoke  College  and  has  been  an  effi- 
cient mission  worker  in  Japan  for  many  years.  At 
her  request,  Mrs.  Williams  went  to  the  little  mountain 
village,  and  brought  the  old  mother  to  Kalgan.  She  had 
never  forgotten  the  ''Jesus  People,'^  and  her  eager  and 
whole-souled  acceptance  of  Christ  was  beautiful  to  see. 
Her  son,  the  "Golden  Boy,"  was  supported  in  the  mis- 
sion school  by  the  daughter  in  Japan.  The  daughter's 
love  in  seeking  her  out  after  so  many  years  was  a  revela- 
tion to  the  old  mother,  and  helped  her  to  understand  the 
divine  love.  Mrs.  Williams  wrote  of  her  afterwards : — 
*'I  wish  you  might  have  known  Martha's  mother. 
When  I  was  first  teaching  her  to  read,  one  day  we  came 
to  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John.  She  read  the  second 
verse,  'In  your  Father's  house  are  many  mansions.'  I 
showed  her  that  it  read,  '  In  my  Father's  house,' — and  told 
her  that  we,  as  well  as  Christ,  had  the  right  to  say  '  my 
Father.'  It  was  wonderful  to  her,  and  she  kept  repeat- 
ing, '  My  Father,  my  Father  ! '  She  was  very  intense, 
very  true  and  honest,  and  most  independent,  willing  to  do 
anything  for  an  honest  living.  Her  feet  were  bound,  but 
were  quite  large,  as  she  had  always  worked  in  the  fields, 
and  she  made  nothing  of  walking  three  miles  to  church 
every  Sunday.  She  used  to  come  into  my  house  like  a 
breeze,  talk  very  fast,  and  bustle  out  again.  She  was 
very  poor,  but  there  were  others  who  were  poorer,  and 
she  gave  to  them,  and  cooked  food  for  them,  even  after 
her  last  sickness  had  come  upon  her.  '  How  I  should 
love  to  go  to  church  again  ! '  she  would  say  to  me.  '  I 
used  to  run  there,  and  run  home  again,  but  I'll  never  do 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT  253 

it   again.    It  is   better   to  go  to  Christ.     Yes,    much 
better.' ") 

^^  September  19th. 

**  One  of  the  boys  who  has  not  been  here  for  a  long 
time  came  to  our  morning  Sabbath  school.  The  lesson 
was  the  parable  of  the  hundred  sheep,  and  I  was  truly- 
helped  in  putting  it  plainly  before  them. 

^^I  made  no  visits  last  week,  for  there  was  sewing  for 
the  children  which  had  to  be  done.  But  I  had  more 
classes  than  usual.'' 

^^  Tuesday^  Sept.  20th. 

*^Chia  T'a  Niang  came  to-day.  She  is  in  great 
trouble  over  her  son,  who  is  an  opium  user.  She  has 
four  good  sons,  and  one  bad  one.  She  loves  the  bad  one. 
I  was  glad  to  see  and  talk  with  her.  Years  ago,  she  had 
dropsy.  I  studied  up  and  put  together  the  right  things 
for  her,  and  she  was  a  most  grateful  woman." 

^'  Wednesday y  Sept.  21st. 

'''  We  are  going  to  visit  the  house  north  of  ours.  It  is 
best  not  to  go  before  noon,  for  they  will  not  have  things 
quite  in  order  for  company,  and  we  should  not  be 
welcome." 

^^  Afternoon. 

"Another  old  acquaintance  called  with  two  of  her 
daughters.  They  came  for  a  good-bye,  spent  several 
hours,  and  then  stayed  to  prayer- meeting.  I  showed  my 
album  and  photographs,  and  we  had  a  good,  friendly 
time." 

*^  Thursday^  Sept.  22d. 

*^  Our  lame  scholar,  Bai  Le,  came  to-day  to  make  the 
picture  book  I  promised  him.  His  mother  is  said  to 
have  a  familiar  spirit,  but  we  understand  that  she  has  the 
repute  of  morality.  He  has  a  pleasant  face.  This  is  my 
second,— no,  third  attempt  at  getting  acquainted  with 


254  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

him.  At  first  he  felt  shy,  but  pictures  and  paste  soon 
broke  the  ice  (or  thinned  it),  as  they  always  do.  His 
book  is  made  up  of  seven  Child's  Papers^  and  is  filled 
with  pictures.  It  takes  a  good  many,  but  he  did  nicely 
at  pasting,  and  we  talked  about  many  of  the  pictures. 
This  is  the  prettiest  scrap-book  made  yet.  It  is  the  eight- 
eenth. Before  we  move  to  Bethel,  each  one  of  the  twenty- 
seven  boys  of  our  school  here  is  to  have  a  scrap-book 
which  he  has  made.  I  enjoy  having  only  one  boy  at  a 
time,  as  it  is  a  good  chance  to  get  acquainted.  This  after- 
noon the  lad  became  sociable,  and  we  had  a  pleasant 
talk  together. 

"  We  are  busy  packing  these  days,  but  I  must  go  to 
four  more  places,  positively,  and  to  ten  more,  if  I  can  find 
time.  A  week  or  so  ago,  we  could  manage  our  calls  by 
my  getting  up  to  pack  and  work  at  everything  before 
breakfast.  It  is  very  cold  now  to  work  then.  Now  I 
must  get  ready  for  my  geography  class  to-morrow.  We 
have  singing  classes  afterwards.  I  have  two  Chinese 
women  sewing  for  me  to-day,  mending  our  old  carpet. 
The  children  have  all  done  some  ironing  this  week. 
They  do  nicely." 

(To  her  boy  Stephen.) 

"  Kalgan,  July  7,  1888. 

"I  was  thinking  of  you  in  the  night,  and  I  saw  plainly 
that  at  this  rate,  you  will  not  have  many  letters  to  re- 
member your  mother  by.  I'm  sure  there'll  be  a  by  and 
by  in  heaven  when  we  shall  see  each  other,  and  be  happy 
together,  without  any  need  of  letters  any  more. 

**  I  have  been  much  pleased  to  hear  about  your  exercise 
and  play.  It  is  worth  while  to  be  a  real  boy,  and  to  stay  a 
boy  in  some  things  as  long  as  you  can.  It  is  God's  way, 
His  plan,  that  though  the  various  thoughts  of  a  man  may 
be  growing  in  a  boy's  mind,  there  should  also  be  room 
for  the  thoughts,  the  play  and  the  joy  of  a  boy. 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         266 

"  We  are  to  have  tomatoes  and  corn  this  summer.  It 
is  very  nice  to  live  here  at  Bethel,  out  of  the  city,  where 
we  have  room  for  things  to  grow.  Life  and  growth  are 
always  wonderful. 

"Good-bye,  my  son,  my  one  only  son. 

"  Your  affectionate 

"  Mother." 

"  Kalgan,  July  5, 1889. 
"  Dear  Anna  : 

"  We  are  spending  the  summer  in  our  Upper  City 
home,  and  have  with  us  Dr.  Marion  Sinclair  and  Miss 
McKillican  from  Peking.  I  feel  very  happy  to  have  them 
with  us. 

**  We  were  very  busy  moving  before  they  came.  Mr. 
Williams  was  away  at  mission  meeting,  and  my  right- 
hand  man,  Chang  Ming,  was  stung  by  a  scorpion.  His 
hand  swelled  fearfully,  and  he  cried  with  the  pain,  one 
day,  from  morning  till  noon.  So  the  work  was  very 
heavy.  My  Bible  verse  those  days  was,  ^  By  love  serve 
one  another.' 

"  It  is  raining  a  little  to-day  ;  our  parched  time  is  over. 
While  it  was  burning  and  blowing  day  by  day,  our  chief 
thought  was  a  prayer  for  rain.  A  rain  came  the  day  our 
goods  were  being  moved,  and  then  again  the  sun  burned, 
day  after  day.  The  people  were  called  upon  to  pray  for 
rain,  and  the  meat  shops  were  closed.  Our  Manchu 
friends  had  laid  up  meat  in  readiness,  and  said  they  were 
going  to  eat  all  the  more,  which  was  very  saucy  of  them. 
We  ate  eggs  and  chickens  and  dried  beef,  and  did  com- 
fortably well  ourselves,  but  the  Kalgan  cats  were  well- 
nigh  famished  !  Several  strange  cats  prowled  through 
our  house  nightly,  and  they,  with  the  three  which  the 
children  own,  lapped  the  milk  pans  clean  ;  tipped  over 
the  canned  milk,  and  nibbled  its  edgesj  ate  up  and  scat- 


256  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

tered  dry  bread  ;  devoured  huge  pieces  from  the  fresh 
loaves  j  licked  the  butter  at  any  chance  opportunity ; 
and  worse  than  all,  waked  me,  and  kept  me  awake  and 
up  and  down  in  chase  of  the  disappointing  cat  tails  !  I 
was  aging  rapidly,  and  really  becoming  feeble,  when  the 
butcher  shops  oi^ened  again  without  waiting  for  the  peo- 
ple's prayers  to  be  answered.  The  mandarins  were  not 
doing  much  praying  ;  they  had  porkers  killed  for  their 
table. 

^^The  twins  eat  nothing  these  days.  I  shall  have  to 
feed  them  as  the  Chinese  do  the  baby  larks,  by  stuffing 
wads  of  oatmeal  down  their  throats. 

**Dr.  Sinclair  and  Miss  McKillican  have  a  Peking 
woman  here  as  their  teacher.  I  can  hear  their  merry 
laughter  from  across  the  court,  as  she  explains  some 
peculiar  mistake  they  have  made  in  their  new  tongue. 
Their  cheerful  table-talk  brightens  us  up.  Dr.  Sinclair 
is  such  a  blessing  to  my  sick  people.     I  interpret  for  her.  * ' 

Some  memories  of  that  summer,  and  of  the  friendship 
thus  begun,  are  given  in  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Marion  Sin- 
clair Headland,  to  one  of  the  daughters. 

**When  you  wrote  of  your  mother,  there  came  before 
my  mind  a  vision  of  a  little  room  in  a  Chinese  house  in 
far-off  Kalgan.  It  was  twilight,  and  at  the  organ  sat  a 
woman  singing.  She  sang  with  radiant  face,  and  her  in- 
spired eyes  seemed  already  to  see  that  ^  Jerusalem  the 
Golden '  of  which  she  sang. 

"  I  had  gone  to  her  for  the  summer  from  my  home  in 
Peking, — Peking,  with  its  heat  and  dirt,  to  Kalgan  with 
its  cool  mountain  breezes  and  its  fresh  grass  and  flowers. 
I  found  there  also,  for  the  first  time,  a  dear  friend,  who 
was  always  afterwards  so  interested  in  my  study,  my 
work,  my  life. 


y 


IN  LABOES  MORE  ABUNDANT         257 

"  It  was  during  that  summer  that  often  in  the  evening, 
after  the  lessons  in  Chinese  were  over,  while  we  sat  to- 
gether in  the  twilight  of  that  little  court,  she  would  sing 
to  us,  or  she  would  tell  us  of  the  early  missionary  days  in 
Kalgan,  when  she  was  often  alone, — no  other  white 
woman  within  five  days'  journey,  no  doctor  to  care  for 
her  little  ones  when  ill.  I  remember  her  telling  how 
when  one  of  her  children  was  born,  Mr.  Williams  was  ill 
with  fever,  and  she  had  no  one  with  her  but  an  old 
Chinese  woman.  Often  she  would  tell  us  of  her  girlhood 
experiences,  when  in  her  father's  home  she  lived  among 
the  Indians,  and  as  she  talked  we  would  be  thrilled  with 
fear,  as  she  told  of  the  Indian  Outbreak  when  they  were 
all  fleeing  for  their  lives  before  the  cruel  savages.  But  she 
liked  best  to  tell  quaint  little  tales  of  this  or  that  Indian 
child  who  learned  to  love  the  missionary,  and  who  came  to 
the  school,  and  afterwards  became  a  good  man  or  woman. 

"  She  always  saw  so  much  good  in  every  one.  There 
were  times  when  others  felt  that  she  was  being  imposed 
upon,  but  she  wished  to  give  every  one  all  the  chances 
possible.  Her  hands  were  ever  open  to  help,  — unselfishly 
help  every  one  whose  life  she  touched.  It  was  she  who 
took  in  the  man  with  typhus  fever,  after  his  family,  fear- 
ing the  contagion  of  the  disease,  had  cast  him  in  his  sick- 
ness upon  the  street.  He  crawled  to  the  mission  gate, 
and  the  doctor  being  far  away  in  the  country,  she  had  a 
room  prepared  for  him,  and  cared  for  him  herself  until 
the  doctor's  return. 

*'  In  her,  more  than  in  any  one  I  have  ever  known,  was 
embodied  the  mind  of  a  poet  with  the  heart  of  a  little 
child.  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  both  upon 
earth,  and  in  those  celestial  regions  where  she  has  gone 
to  be  forever  with  the  Lord. 

"  By  her  friend, 

*  ^  Marion  Sinclair  Headland.  ^ ' 


258  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^Kalgan,  July  23,  1889, 
"My  Dear  Boy  Stephen  : 

"We  are  so  glad  always  to  get  your  letters.  Yes- 
terday we  were  greatly  excited  over  the  coming  of  the 
mail.  It  brought  a  letter  from  Mary  from  San  Francisco. 
She  is  with  you  by  this  time.  In  reality  she  has  been 
gone  from  us  only  a  short  time,  but  it  seems  very  long. 

" .  .  .  Miss  Andrews  has  sent  me  a  book-mark  hav- 
ing the  verses, 

"  *  Looking  unto  Jesas— '  (Heb.  12  :  2). 
'' '  That  I  may  know  Him  '  (Phil.  3  :  10). 

"  The  first  verse  has  been  one  of  my  precious  ones  ever 
since  the  time  when  I  was  away  at  school,  and  my  father 
sent  me  a  gold  dollar,  folded  in  a  bit  of  paper  on  which 
was  written  that  verse.  I  remember  just  how  it  looked, 
in  his  plainest  handwriting.     .     .     .'^ 

^^Kalgauj  March  8,  1890, 
"  My  Dear  Sister  Mary  : 

".  .  .  I  feel  as  though  I  had  lived  my  life,  and 
had  already  had  my  share  of  its  happiness.  *  I  have  lived, 
I  have  loved.  ^  Now  I  am  content,  yes,  quite  content,  to 
wait  for  that  which  will  be  mine  in  the  home  above. 
Strangely  enough,  when  my  mind  has  come  to  that  state, 
I  am  in  circumstances  to  receive  more  of  friendship  and 
appreciation  than  for  years  previous.  This  winter  of  1889 
and  ^90  has  given  Mr.  Williams  and  myself  some  new 
work,  and  we  are  very  happy  in  it.  (I  am  also  the  freer 
to  do  it,  now  that  I  have  but  the  two  children  with  me.) 
This  new  work  of  regular  Bible  teaching  takes  the  time 
which  used  to  be  spent,  in  our  Upper  City  home,  in  en- 
tertaining visitors,  and  it  is  more  satisfactory,  for  I  feel 
that  it  is  striking  blows  in  one  place,  and  not  scattering 
them.  Our  pupils  are  young  men  from  the  country,  who 
come  to  study  the  Bible  during  the  winter  months.     We 


IN  LABOES  MORE  ABUNDANT         259 

have  had  twenty-four  in  all,  but  never  more  than  eight- 
een at  one  time.  Our  accommodations  for  them  are  very 
small,  and  one  wonders  how  they  have  succeeded  in  being 
peaceful  and  harmonious  in  such  cramped  quarters. 

"I  must  tell  you  the  odd  dream  I  had  about  them,  early 
in  the  winter.  Dr.  McBride  went  to  inspect  their  room, 
and  came  out  very  earnest  on  the  subject  of  microbes  and 
crowd  poison,  and  suggested  plans  for  ventilation.  That 
night  I  thought  I  waked  up  underneath  a  heap  of  human 
beings,  and  found  it  was  our  class  of  young  men.  They 
were  talking  rapidly,  and  all  at  once.  ^  This  is  your 
Christianity, — this  your  science, — this  your  Golden  Eule, 
— this  your  love  of  your  brethren  !  Your  little  girls  have 
a  room  to  themselves,  and  see  what  we  have  !  Thisia 
your  Christianity,  this  your  law  of  love  !  ^  Such  scorn  as 
there  was  in  their  voices  !  I  was  utterly  humiliated  and 
condemned,  but  seemed  to  escape  from  beneath  the  berat- 
ing heap,  only  to  fly  before  them, — they  following  in  hot 
pursuit,  with  blue  gowns  and  long  queues  streaming  out 
behind,  while  their  scornful  voices  still  shouted, — ^Chris- 
tianity,— science, — rule  of  love — your  children — room  of 
their  own  ! '  over  and  over,  in  a  constant  whirl  of  sound. 
I  have  only  to  shut  my  eyes,  and  I  can  still  be  flying  be- 
fore those  blue- clad  avengers.  ^  Am  I  my  brother^s 
keeper  ?  ^  I  have  said  often  to  myself,  since  that. 

^^Well,  what  result  of  the  dream?  I  could  not  give 
them  any  other  room,  but  in  other  ways  I  have  been  try- 
ing to  keep  my  brothers.  The  first  gain  is  that  I  know, 
in  every  fibre  of  my  being,  that  these  are  my  brothers, 
and  for  this,  let  me  thank  God. 

"I  have  an  occasional  evening  for  reading  with  my  class 
in  Mark.  We  took  that  because  it  is  the  briefest  of  the 
Gospels,  and  we  have  read  ten  chapters.  I  sing  occasion- 
ally with  our  boys,  but  my  voice  is  weak  this  winter,  and 
does  not  answer  very  well  for  leading.    It  is  quite  touch- 


260  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ing  to  notice  how  softly  the  young  men  sing,  when  we 
practice  together,  so  that  they  may  not  drown  my  feeble 
tones. 

"It  is  good  to  have  this  work.  I  am  more  than  glad 
to  have  a  share  in  it.  It  has  never  seemed  dry  or  tire- 
some, but  delightfully  full  of  interest.  And  with  it  has 
come  an  intense  realization  of  the  value  of  souls,  and  of 
these  in  particular,  so  that  I  believe  some  of  my  pupils 
have  gained  something  of  the  same.  I  want  them  all  to 
know  Jesus  Chrisf 

*^Kdlganj  April  12,  1890, 
"  My  Dear  Sisters  : 

".  .  .  The  great  event  here  is  the  building  of 
the  new  house,  Mr.  Williams'  gift  to  the  Station.  It  is 
going  up  as  rapidly  as  such  things  can  in  China.  The 
windows  and  doors  came  from  Tientsin  per  camel,  yester- 
day.    They  were  sent  from  San  Francisco. 

"I  go  this  afternoon  to  the  dispensary  with  Mrs.  Mc- 
Bride,  who  is  a  physician  as  well  as  her  husband.  Yes- 
terday I  spent  the  day  interpreting  for  her.  Then  Mrs. 
McBride  and  the  babies  took  tea  with  us." 

^^  April  23d. 
*^  Since  I  wrote  last,  the  school  matron  has  been  alarm- 
ingly ill,  and  I  watched  with  her  four  nights.  This,  with 
the  care  of  the  little  girls  who  are  sick,  made  me  an  easy 
victim  to  the  grip  which  is  going  the  rounds.  Following 
that,  I  had  tonsilitis,  for  variety,  and  have  shivered  and 
burned  by  intervals,  but  am  through  the  worst  now.  The 
school  patients  are  all  better.  These  few  days  I  could 
have  done  nothing  for  them,  unless  they  had  been  dying. 
I  went  to  Chinese  prayer-meeting  to-day,  and  to  morning 
service  last  Sunday,  since  there  would  have  been  no  one 
to  play  the  organ  had  I  stayed  at  home.     I  think  I  shall 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         261 

have  to  plan  my  attacks  of  tonsilitis  when  Mrs.  Roberts 
is  at  home  ! 

"I  will  hear  my  classes  to-morrow  if  it  seems  best. 
One  in  each  class  can  give  out  the  questions,  and  I  will 
listen.  One  class  is  doing  very  well  in  geography  and  in 
arithmetic  also.  The  other  is  grovelling  continuously  in 
the  very  beginnings,  which  grows  monotonous. 

"If  it  will  interest  you,  I'll  tell  you  we  have  made  our 
spring  soap, — two  tins  of  lye  were  used.  Nearly  half 
of  what  we  made  wiU  go  to  the  dispensary,  for  use 
there.     .    .     .'^ 

In  the  spring  of  1891  the  annual  mission  meeting  was 
held  at  Tientsin.  It  was  a  time  of  pleasant  reunion,  es- 
pecially as  the  London  society  was  meeting  there  at  the 
same  time,  with  James  Gilmour  as  its  chairman.  Strong, 
enthusiastic,  full  of  boundless  energy  and  spiritual  power 
as  he  was,  how  little  they  realized  that  this  was  to  be  their 
last  glimpse  of  him  this  side  of  heaven.  His  last  letter, 
already  known  to  readers  of  his  life,  was  one  written  to 
Mrs.  Williams. 

"  Tientsin,  Friday ,  May  8th. 
'^  My  Dear  Mes.  Williams  : 

"Thanks  for  returning  the  photos.  Not  having 
delivered  them  to  you  personally,  I  feared  that  in  the 
present  whirl  of  people  and  business  they  might  have 
been  mislaid,  or  even  not  reached  you. 

"It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  see  you  here  at  this  time. 
Many  memories  of  past  times  and  days  come  up.  Though 
never  again  likely  to  see  Kalgan,  I  often  in  thought  go 
along  its  narrow,  hard  streets,  and  its  up  and  down  side- 
ways, call  in  at  your  house,  see  all  your  faces,  even  that 
of  the  youthful  Stephen,  and  the  studious  Etta ;  and  often 
go  up  over  the  Pass  into  the  grass-land. 


262  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  It  is  like  a  rest  for  a  little  while  beside  the  palms  and 
wells  of  Elim  to  meet  you  all  here.  Your  peaceful, 
happy  family  fills  me  with  gratitude  to  God.  May  He 
bless  them  all  (your  children),  and  lead  them  not  only 
into  paths  of  pleasantness,  but  of  useful  service  for  Him  ! 
You  and  your  husband  seem  well.  May  many  useful 
years  of  ripely  experienced  labor  be  yours ! 

*"'  Lately  I  am  being  more  and  more  impressed  with  the 
idea  that  what  is  wanted  in  China  is  not  new  ^  lightning^ 
methods  so  much  as  good,  honest,  quiet,  earnest,  persist- 
ent work,  in  old  lines  and  ways. 

"  With  many  grateful  memories  of  all  old-time  Kalgan 
kindness,  and  hoping  to  see  a  note  from  you  or  Mr.  Will- 
iams, say  once  a  year  or  so,  and  with  prayers  for  you,  and 
all  Kalgan-ward  Mongols, 

"  Yours,  cheered  by  the  vision  of  you  all, 

*^  James  Gilmoue.^^ 

^^Kalgarij  Oct,  2,  1891. 
"  Dear  Sisters  : 

"  Sabbath  morning,  from  ten  to  eleven  of  the  upper 
town  schoolboys  are  usually  here  to  be  sung  with,  and  to 
be  told  Bible  stories.  Sometimes  only  one  boy  comes, 
sometimes  fifteen  or  twenty.  We  used  to  send  them 
home  in  a  cart,  fearing  some  of  the  small  boys  would  find 
it  hard  to  walk  both  ways,  but  this  has  been  stopped  be- 
cause our  winter  class  are  expected  to  walk  from  their 
homes  (and  return) — fifty,  sixty,  or  a  hundred  miles,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

**We  try  to  fish  for  them.  One  week  sixteen  little 
scalloped  pies  were  ready  for  them,  and  it  was  amusing 
to  see  how  quickly  a  pie  went  up  in  each  boy's  sleeve. 
The  week  after,  there  were  sixteen  little  cakes,  but  the 
day  was  unpleasant,  and  but  twelve  boys  came.  For  two 
weeks  we  have  had  small  packages  of  raisins  made  ready 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT         263 

previously.  This  week  we  invited  the  Lower  City  school- 
boys and  sang  with  them.  We  hope  these  little  atten- 
tions may  help  in  gaining  the  boys'  hearts,  and  I  try  to 
use  all  the  opportunities  gained  in  the  best  -^ay. 

*'  I  want  to  tell  you  of  a  little  boy  in  whom  I  am  greatly 
interested.  His  father,  a  teacher  by  the  name  of  Chang, 
is  miserably  poor,  and  we  suspect,  an  opium  user.  One 
day  the  father  got  angry  with  his  boy,  beat  him  with  a 
table,  and  broke  his  back.  The  poor  little  fellow  is  a 
cripple  for  life.  When  he  is  able,  he  takes  care  of  his 
baby  brother  while  his  mother  goes  out  to  work.  When 
we  chloroformed  our  kittens  because  of  broken  legs,  the 
mother  said,  *  It  surely  would  be  a  noble  thing  to  give 
that  to  my  poor  boy.  He  suffers  so  much,  and  he  can 
never  get  well.  And  his  father  hates  him  so.  There  is 
no  one  to  care  for  him  or  wait  on  him  but  me.  Every 
day  I  carry  him  out  in  the  court  on  my  back.'  Dr.  Mur- 
dock  kept  the  little  fellow  at  the  hospital  for  some  weeks 
and  taught  him  to  read.  Now  we  feel  that  the  boy  is  a 
Christian.  I  try  to  think  of  pleasant  little  things  to  send 
him  every  week. 

^^I  found  out  something  of  interest  the  other  day. 
My  cook  told  me  that  with  the  Chinese,  250  is  a  number 
of  despicable  meaning.  To  call  a  man  250  would  be 
cause  for  quarrel.  On  this  hangs  a  tale.  There  was  an 
old  skinflint  and  curmudgeon  who  was  as  mean  as  he 
could  be  to  his  wife,  and  to  show  his  scorn  of  her,  he  al- 
ways called  her  by  this  despised  number.  He  was  buy- 
ing coal  one  day,  and  weighing  out  the  bags.  ^190, 
212,  239,  250  (Er  pai  wu!)^^  he  called  out  very  loud. 
His  wife  appeared, — 'What  do  you  want?'  So  he  was 
laughed  at  unmercifully  by  the  men  of  Kalgan,  because 
a  man  shouldn't  call  his  wife  by  any  name  at  all !  If  he 
has  children,  he  should  say,  '  The  boy's  mother,'  or 
*Tell  your  mother  so  and  so.'      Failing  that,  he  should 


264  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

speak  of  *  her,'  or  he  could  speak  to  her  by  calling  out 
^  Hay  ! '  when  every  one  would  look  up  to  see  that  she  was 
the  one  meanf 

The  winter  and  spring  of  1892  were  full  of  plans  for  the 
homeward  j  ourney  to  America.  Mr.  Williams  had  started 
in  November,  taking  the  longer  trip  through  India  and 
Palestine,  but  during  his  absence  the  Kalgan  Station  was 
reinforced  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wagner,  and  Mrs.  Wagner's 
companionship  was  a  great  delight  to  Mrs.  Williams. 
One  of  Mrs.  Wagner's  letters  written  later  to  Henrietta 
gives  a  glimpse  of  these  months. 

*^  .  .  I  have  wanted  so  much  to  see  your  mother- 
She  was  one  of  the  dear  friends  I  felt  I  was  sure  of  al- 
ways. During  the  winter  we  were  at  Kalgan  when  she 
was  preparing  for  the  journey  home,  she  seemed  to  take 
real  comfort  in  sharing  with  me  many  of  the  letters  and 
treasures  she  found.  And  to  me,  such  confidence  brought 
much  pleasure  and  help.  Sometimes  it  was  a  letter 
written  as  long  ago  as  when  the  little  Isabella  was  a  baby, 
sometimes  the  last  letters  from  her  dear  ones  in  America. 
I  never  had  a  friend  who  made  me  know  every  member  of 
her  family  and  her  father's  family,  as  she  did.  It  was 
partly  her  father's  book,  ^Mary  and  I,  or  Forty  Years 
among  the  Sioux,'  that  helped  make  all  so  real.  I  felt  as 
if  I  were  getting  a  sequel  to  '  Mary  and  I,'  and  used  to 
say  to  her,  ^  How  often  we  close  a  volume  with  keenest 
disappointment  because  there  is  no  more.  But  this  time 
I  am  getting  more  in  a  special  way,  and  I  do  appreciate 
it  so  much.' 

^  *  It  was  very  hard  for  your  mother  to  leave  Kalgan.  It 
seemed  as  if  she  could  not  tear  herself  away.  She  seemed 
so  frail  sometimes,  we  could  but  wonder  if  she  would  have 
the  strength  to  return  again.  God  is  good,  who  has 
granted  her  this  joy." 


VII 

REST   BY  THE  WAY 

I  halt  to-day  ;  be  love  my  cheerful  cmtch, 
My  feet  to  plod,  some  day  my  wings  to  soar  : 
Some  day ;  but,  Lord,  not  any  day  before 

Thou  call  me  perfect,  having  made  me  such. 

This  is  a  day  of  love,  a  day  of  sorrow, 
Love  tempering  sorrow  to  a  sort  of  bliss ; 
A  day  that  shortens  while  we  call  it  long  : 

A  longer  day  of  love  will  dawn  to-morrow, 
A  longer,  brighter,  lovelier  day  than  this, 
Endless,  all  love,  no  sorrow,  but  a  song. 

— Christina  Bossdti. 

**  Kalgan,  February  3,  1892. 
*^  My  Dear  Children  : 

''Doesn't  it  seem  as  if  we  might  see  each  other 
soon  now  ?  Only  a  month  and  a  half  till  we  leave  Kalgan, 
if  God  will  it  so.     Pray  for  us  all  the  way. 

"I  have  not  been  well  this  winter.  My  voice,  es- 
pecially, has  been  weak  and  on  the  edge  of  complete 
breakdown  all  the  time.  It  has  been  so  partly  from  my 
constant  shouting  of  Bible  words  in  Hsin  Wu's  best  ear. 
I  hope  the  journey  home  will  be  a  renewal  of  my  strength. 

'*We  call  a  station  meeting,  whenever  letters  come 
from  your  father  on  his  journeyings,  and  all  enjoy  them. 
Our  Chinese  are  very  much  interested.  He  will  soon  be 
in  Palestine  now,  and  then  on  his  way  home  to  you. 
Soon  we  shall  all  be  together  !    .     .     ." 

In  March  the  long  journey  to  America  was  begun. 
There  were  delightful  sojourns  by  the  way, — in  Japan, 

205 


BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

with  Eev.  John  T.  Gulick  and  his  wife,  and  in  Los  An- 
geles, with  beloved  fellow-missionaries  of  earlier  years, 
Eev.  and  Mrs.  L.  D.  Chapin. 

Oberlin,  Ohio,  was  chosen  to  be  the  family  home,  and 
Thanksgiving  Day,  1892,  was  a  memorable  one,  in  that 
the  family,  having  been  separated  for  nearly  twelve  years, 
was  once  more  gathered  together  under  one  roof.  But 
such  days  together  were  rare,  for  many  calls  came  from 
the  churches  eager  to  hear  of  the  work  in  China.  Mrs. 
Williams  wrote,  ^'When  I  think  of  my  poor  Chinese 
women,  I  long  to  speak  for  China.  It  is  sometimes  a  fire 
in  my  bones.'' 

Some  notes  of  her  missionary  talks  of  this  year  have 
been  preserved. 

"  Memories 

"  I  see  a  little  mud- walled,  mud-roofed  house  opening 
on  an  obscure  and  dirty  street.  There  are  two  mission- 
aries there,  Eev.  John  T.  Gulick  and  his  wife.  They 
have  been  stoned  and  driven  from  another  house  in  the  same 
city.  They  are  the  first  missionaries  the  people  of  the  city 
have  ever  seen.  Curious  neighbors  come  in  by  threes 
and  fours,  and  then  by  dozens.  My  husband  and  I  come 
to  Kalgan,  and  share  the  shelter  of  that  mud  roof.  A 
high  wall  reflects  heat  into  the  narrow  court,  and  a  school 
of  twenty  boys  sing  out  their  lessons  all  day  long. 

"  The  autumn  comes,  and  we  four  missionaries  go  on  a 
tour  to  the  city  of  Yu  Cho.  Here  our  sojourn  is  in  a 
Buddhist  temple.  In  this  city,  from  which  some  of  our 
best  Christians  have  come,  men  and  boys  climb  the  wall, 
and  attempt  to  stone  us  on  this  our  first  visit. 

*^  These  were  the  beginnings.  Let  me  tell  you  of  our 
work  now,  in  the  city  of  Kalgan,  so  dear  to  us,  a  city  of 
80,000  people,  so  few  of  whom  know  the  Lord  Christ. 
How   can  I  tell  you  of  all  ? — our  schools  for  boys  and 


REST  BY  THE  WAY  267 

girls  J  our  winter  Bible  classes  for  men  ;  our  many  visitors, 
who  come  in  curiosity,  but  often  leave  with  a  longing  for 
this  new  ^Jesus-doctrine'  ;  our  medical  work,  and  our 
touring,  when  the  missionary  ^  Shepherds '  come  back 
very  brown  and  dusty,  but  full  of  thanksgiving  for  what 
God  has  wrought. 

"A  year  ago,  our  winter  Bible  class  was  about  to  begin. 
For  lack  of  room,  we  had  to  refuse  as  many  as  we  received. 
One  day  two  young  men  came,  who  begged  so  earnestly 
to  be  allowed  to  join  the  class,  that  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible for  me  to  tell  them  there  was  no  chance  until  next 
year.     I  sat  there  with  the  tears  rolling  down  my  cheeks. 

"  To  this  school  men  and  their  sons  come, — rough  coun- 
try lads,  stupid-looking  outwardly,  but  eager  to  learn, — 
worn  old  mountaineers,  as  eager  as  their  sons,  and  even 
more  pathetic.  They  come  so  clean  and  happy,  but 
many  are  so  poor  that  they  have  no  change  of  clothing, 
so  we  get  a  good  old  woman  to  wash  and  mend  their 
stockings,  while  they  go  barefoot,  and  their  other  cloth- 
ing, while  they  go  to  bed  ! 

**  The  Romish  church  has  money  to  meet  its  needs.  It 
can  provide  for  students.  The  little  babies  that  are  laid 
out  to  die  are  gathered  up  and  taken  care  of  until  they 
are  ready  for  the  convent  schools.  During  the  twenty-six 
years  I  have  been  in  China,  I  have  known  of  many  such 
girls  who  have  been  thus  saved,  educated,  and  married. 
Shall  our  Christian  missions  lose  this  opportunity  for 
want  of  money?  At  Kalgan,  one  of  our  missionaries 
saved  five  children  thus.  Two  years  ago,  a  wee  Chinese 
baby  was  left  at  our  door,  wrapped  in  coarse  blue  cotton 
rags.  Her  mother  was  a  Christian,  and  died  at  the  baby's 
birth.  The  father,  a  heathen  and  an  opium  user,  left  the 
baby  on  our  steps,  in  the  dawn  of  a  cold  winter  morning. 
We  took  the  wee,  black-eyed  girl,  as  pretty  a  Chinese 
baby  as  one  ever  sees,  and  put  her  in  charge  of  one  of  our 


BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

young  Christian  women,  who  had  a  baby  girl  of  her  own. 
This  young  woman,  Ying  Ying  Tzu,  when  not  more  than 
a  girl,  had  married  a  promising  young  man,  who  came 
under  the  curse  of  opium  which  led  him  to  choose  evil, 
and  finally  death.  These  few  sentences  mean  so  little  to 
you,  but  oh,  how  much  they  mean  to  me  !  The  young 
man  I  had  known  and  loved  from  childhood.  Prayers 
and  tears  did  not  avail  to  bring  him  back  from  his  sin. 
He  chose  death,  not  without  relentings,  not  without 
struggles.  But  it  was  the  awful  reality  of  choice.  Here 
was  one  who  might  have  been  like  Gabriel  for  glory  :  he 
chose  to  be  like  Lucifer. 

"You  hear  of  the  opium  curse,  but  you  cannot  know 
it  unless  you  go  to  China.  A  current  proverb  concerning 
one  of  our  neighboring  cities  is  that  eleven  out  of  ten  of  the 
beggars  there  use  opium.  It  would  break  your  heart  to 
see  them, — so  gaunt, — mere  skin  and  bone.  They  sell  all 
that  they  have, — wife,  children,  and  their  own  souls,  for 
the  dreadful  drug.  Some  of  the  physicians  are  working 
for  opium  users.  It  is  more  hopeful  to  work  for  the  chil- 
dren. 

**  The  salvation  of  the  soul  is  precious,  and  it  ceaseth 
never.  In  all  their  poverty  and  filth,  I  see  God's  chil- 
dren.'^ 

In  the  spring  of  1893,  word  came  of  Miss  Diament's 
death,  and  Henrietta  was  appointed  to  fill  her  place  at 
Kalgan.  In  August,  the  father  and  daughter  sailed  for 
China,  and  with  this  parting  the  family  was  separated, 
never  to  meet  together  as  a  family  until  heaven  brings 
the  '  *  perfect  round. ' '  The  mother,  remaining  for  another 
year,  as  she  thought,  wrote  : — "I  hope  to  gain  in  strength 
so  that  I  may  be  able  to  return  to  China  next  summer. 
While  I  am  here,  it  is  a  joy  to  me  to  be  able  to  make  a 
pleasant  home  for  the  children.    Yet  I  often  feel  like  one 


REST  BY  THE  WAY 

of  our  Peking  missionary  ladies,  who  said  that  she  had 
come  to  this  country  to  find  that  she  was  '  neither  a  good 
cook,  nor  a  dressmaker,  nor  a  saint.'  I  accomplish  but 
little  these  days.  A  few  letters,  and  the  dinners  ;  some 
biscuit,  a  pudding  or  so  ;  a  little  reading ;  the  meetings 
of  the  week  of  prayer  j — and  my  life  is  nearly  told. 
Some  praying  and  many  thoughts  of  my  dear  ones  here  in 
America  and  over  the  sea,  thoughts  which  are  prayers, 
both  for  them  and  for  our  dear  people  in  China." 

"  Oberlin^  Oct,  26,  1893. 
"  Dear  Anna  and  Cornelia  : 

^  ^  ^  I  have  seen  New  England  in  its  glory, '  as  Martha 
wrote  to  Stephen.  She  said,  too,  that  she  had  never  seen 
such  beautiful  foliage  anywhere,  and  I  believe  I  must  say 
so  too,  although  Henry  and  I  agreed  that  our  Minnesota 
foliage  was  about  as  fine.  You  remember  the  sumach, 
how  brilliant  it  was ;  but  I  fear  I  must  allow  that  the 
New  England  oaks  are  matchless.  The  trees  with  yellow 
leaves  I  think  may  be  equalled  in  Minnesota.     .     .     . 

*^  I  had  a  lovely  visit  with  Miss  McKeen.  I  have  not 
seen  her  since  I  was  eighteen  years  old,  but  we  have  cor- 
responded occasionally,  and  I  have  her  photograph  and 
that  of  her  sister,  Miss  Phebe  McKeen. 

"  Sunday  we  went  to  the  chapel  where  the  theological 
students  and  the  Phillips  Academy  boys  go,  then  we 
walked  by  the  professors'  houses.  I  picked  a  late  clover 
under  the  trees  just  in  front  of  Professor  Phelps'  house — 
the  house  which  was  his. 

"  Saturday  evening  I  had  spoken  in  the  Abbot  Academy 
Hall  to  the  young  ladies.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Draper  came 
over  to  hear  me.     .     .     . 

"  When  I  went  down  to  Hartford  we  found  Mrs.  Eob- 
erts  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  to  keep  me  with  her  as 
long  as  I  could  stay.     Bob  and  I  walked  out  to  Trinity 


270  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

and  saw  his  room,  and  the  view  from  the  bedroom  win- 
dow. Our  Eastern  friends  have  '  views '  to  show  in  al- 
most all  cases.  Imagine  me  speaking  of  the  view  from 
my  back  porch — there  isn't  any  !  New  England  is  better 
off  certainly.     .     .     . 

^*The  strangest  story-book  kind  of  a  thing  occurred 
while  I  was  East.  I  had  decided  to  sell  my  Siberian 
squirrel  skins  for  the  benefit  of  the  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions  for  the  Interior,  and  to  help  in  educating  a  boy 
in  North  Carolina  in  whom  Miss  Le  Due  is  interested. 
You  may  know  I  was  surprised  when  Mrs.  Thompson 
said  she  could  not  use  her  squirrel  lined  cloak,  and  was 
just  going  to  send  it  away  in  a  box,  but  she  would  rather 
I  should  have  it !    .     .     . 

*^  Very  affectionately  your  sister, 

^^  Isabella.  ^^ 
"  Dear  Sister  Anna  : 

"Last  Sunday  I  wore  my  new  black  dress  for  the 
first  time.  I  thank  you  all  so  much,  and  I  shall  remember 
you  each  one,  every  time  I  wear  the  dress.  I  like  helps 
for  remembering.  Years  ago,  the  pigeons'  whistling  was 
always  for  me  the  call  to  prayer.  Do  you  know  about  the 
pigeons'  whistles  of  bamboo,  which  are  tied  on,  and  as  the 
birds  fly  up,  a  ringing  or  whistling  sound  is  made  ?  For 
two  years  or  more  there  were  two  persons  for  whom  I 
prayed  at  that  signal.  I  think  the  Mohammedan  call  of 
the  muezzin  is  certainly  a  help  to  remind  those  of  that 
faith  that  they  should  pray.  Nor  can  I  doubt  but  that 
they  do  often  pray  acceptably  to  God.  What  do  you 
think  1 

"  This  is,  and  yet  is  not,  a  digression.  I  shall  remem- 
ber you,  and  remembering  means  loving,  and  loving 
means  praying  for.  As  we  come  nearer  life's  end,  we 
need  to  be  in  haste,  lest  the  time  and  opportunity  be  gone 
only  too  soon.    The  time  is  short,  at  best.'' 


REST  BY  THE  WAY  271 

*^  Oherlirij  March  29^  1894.. 
"  Dear  Cornelia  : 

^'I  was  much  pleased  with  Julius'  article  on  the 
Dakota  Dictionary.  I  only  wish  I  could  remember  a 
large  part  of  it.  I  should  have  liked  to  have  a  little 
more  said  in  recognition  of  Mr.  Samuel  Pond's  work.  I 
do  think  it  was  an  advantage  to  our  father  that  Mr.  Pond 
could  help  him  at  the  start,  both  of  them  having  really 
fine  linguistic  abilities.  If  our  father  had  come  first 
among  the  Indians,  he  would  have  helped  Mr.  Pond  just 
as  he  was  helped  by  him.  I  know  Mr.  Pond  would  have 
liked  to  do  the  work  on  the  dictionary  which  our  father 
did,  and  he  would  have  done  it  equally  well,  but  his  cir- 
cumstances at  the  time  it  was  done  were  not  so  favorable 
to  that  kind  of  work.  That  made  all  the  difference  in  the 
world.  I  know  how  father  dreamed  dictionary  and 
lived  dictionary  during  the  years  he  was  working  at  it. 
Yet  he  never  neglected  anything  for  it.  The  wood  was 
chopped,  the  water  carried,  the  fields  plowed  for  the  In- 
dians just  as  if  there  never  was  to  be  any  dictionary, — 
and  all  the  while,  in  his  faithful,  persistent,  brooding 
way,  every  hour  was  telling  for  its  progress  to  comple- 
tion.    .     .     . 

^^I  am  just  writing  to  Mrs.  Pettijohn,  ^  Aunt  Fanny. ^ 
I  was  her  little  girl  for  a  year  (1842),  and  Anna  and  I 
lived  with  her  for  three  weeks  in  1848,  while  our  family 
went  to  Kaposia.  She  taught  me  to  knit  more  than  I  knew 
before,— had  me  knit  striped  mittens,  blue,  red  and  yel- 
low. I  loved  them  so,  and  hated  the  old  white  stocking 
leg  which  I  had  been  at  so  long.  And  she  told  me  Bible 
stories.    .     .    .  Your  own 

*' Isabella." 

"  My  dear  little  Keil,  do  pray  for  your  boys.  Oh,  it  is 
snch  a  deciding  time  for  them  now.    I  always  think  so 


272  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

wistfully,  so  yearningly  of  mothers  who  can  keep  their 
children  with  them.  Be  awake  to  your  high  privilege. 
A  mother  of  three  sons.  My  dear,  yon  ought  to  be  very 
proud,  and  very  humble  and  prayerful  too.  .  .  . 
Train  yourself  to  self-denial  for  their  sakes.  I  don't 
mean  to  deny  yourself  that  they  may  have  indulgences, — 
not  at  all.  I  mean  that  by  having  high  ideals  for  your- 
self, you  may  win  them  up  higher.  Be  sure  to  mn  them. 
That  is  my  great  fault, — I  don't  work  long  enough  to  win. 
If  I  think  a  thing  is  so, — is  best,  is  noble, — I  think  others 
will  see  it  for  the  saying. 

*^  .  .  As  for  the  darling  whom  I  may  not  see  now, 
we  shall  all  meet  her  by  and  by.  Dear  sister,  you  are  to 
be  rejoiced  with,  you  who  are  the  mother  of  a  Shining 
One.  It  may  be  that  her  special  work  is  to  lead  all  our 
minds  the  more  to  look  upward,  so  that  heaven  may  be 
really  the  place  of  all  which  we  shall  surely  feel  to  be  most 
like  home.  Oh,  it  is  so  different  to  me  now  from  what  it 
was  once.  Where  our  dear  mother  and  father  are,  and 
where  Jesus  Christ  is,  cannot  be  a  strange  place  at  all  to 
me. 

"  Grood-bye,  my  dear  ^  little  sister.' 

^*  Affectionately  your 
"Isabella.'' 

To  her  little  nephew,  Karl,  she  wrote: — "Are  you 
making  ready  to  shine  on  earth, — shining  God's  way  ?  I 
will  pray  for  you  Sunday  mornings.  No  kind  of  remem- 
bering is  worth  much  except  the  praying  kind." 

"  Oberlin,  April  17,  189J^, 
"Dear  Cornelia  : 

'^  .  .  About  our  mother's  letters — I  am  not 
sure  whether  I  have  sent  you  the  best.  In  some  of  them, 
because  I  knew  her  when  she  was  younger  than  when  you 
knew  her,  I  can  read  between  the  lines  as  much  or  more 


REST  BY  THE  WAY  273 

than  is  written  on  them.  The  style  of  the  day  had  much 
to  do  with  her  way  of  writing — she  had  been  trained.  I 
think  our  father  had  not  been  at  all,  except  as  study  of 
grammar  in  connection  with  language  always  trains  one. 
As  we  look  at  it,  his  measure  of  training  was  of  more 
value  than  hers.  But  if  you  and  I  could  understand  New 
England  women  of  that  time  better,  we  should  see  clearly 
how  this  kind  of  training  came  about.  Women  awoke  to 
a  desire  for  education,  and  they  had  to  think  out  the 
whole  matter.  ^  If  women  are  to  be  educated,  how  and 
how  much  ? '  Men  went  to  the  colleges,  and  took  Latin, 
Greek  and  mathematics.  There  was  not  money  for  the 
women  to  do  the  same,  and  no  college  to  go  to.  It  seems 
to  be  a  wonderful  thing,  how  in  the  main,  they  decided 
on  the  best  things — the  most  practical.  Education  for 
the  wealthy  had  not  been  of  the  best — too  many  had  but 
a  smattering  of  anything.  Of  course  there  has  always 
been  one  here  and  there  who  was  educated  with  her 
brothers,  but  one  here  and  there  doesn't  count.  So  in  the 
days  of  Miss  Grant  and  Miss  Lyon,  the  serious,  thought- 
ful girls  desired  education  with  a  great  desire.  If  their 
models  in  composition  were  not  of  the  best  it  is  not  strange. 
The  Grandisonian,  Johnsonian,  Hannah  More-ish  style 
was  the  best  they  knew.  Hannah  More,  had  she  lived 
to-day,  would  have  written  as  well  as  Margaret  Deland, 
Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  or  Sarah  Orne  Jewett,  but  John- 
son would  have  been  somewhat  Johnsonian  in  any  case. 
"  My  dear  child, — to  put  an  end  to  this  lecture,  of  which 
you  must  be  tired, — our  mother  was  just  like  our- 
selves.    .     .     .  Lovingly  yours, 

^'Isabella.'* 

In  the  spring  of  1894  the  two  years'  furlough  was  over, 
and  she  wrote  to  her  brother  Eobert : — 

**  Yes,  I  am  expecting  to  go  back  to  China  this  summer. 


274  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

When  I  think  of  the  work  in  Kalgan,  I  simply  must  go  ; 
when  I  think  of  the  children,  I  feel  as  if  I  must  stay 
another  year.  The  decision  tears  me  apart.  I  think 
probably  I  shall  go  to  Clifton  Springs  for  a  short  time, 
and  get  the  opinion  of  the  doctors  there  as  to  whether  I 
may  go  this  year.  I  have  been  under  Dr.  Noble's  care 
here,  but  he  is  east  at  present.  I  cannot  write  letters, — a 
great  sinking  at  heart  comes.  The  letters  ought  to  be 
farewells  for  a  while,  and  I  think  of  my  dear  ones,  and  it 
is  more  than  I  can  bear. ' '  Again  she  wrote  : — "It  is  only 
by  not  letting  myself  think  about — everything — that  I 
can  keep  up.     But  the  more  I  must  fly  to  God." 

In  April  she  wrote  to  her  sister  Anna  : — "  We  shall  be 
delighted  to  see  you  any  time.  My  health  is  not  brilliant 
these  days,  and  people  say  I  ought  not  to  go  to  China  this 
year.  It  would  be  a  shame  to  put  you  to  all  this  trouble 
over  my  sewing,  and  then  not  go  !  I  was  hoping  to  look 
a  little  better  soon,  so  that  you  would  think  I  could  go  to 
China!" 

In  spite  of  her  hopes,  the  doctors'  decision  deferred  her 
return  for  another  year.  These  years  at  home  were  filled 
with  much  that  had  been  denied  her,  in  her  life  in  China. 
To  her  music-loving  nature,  the  opportunity  to  hear  the 
great  oratorios  of  ''The  Messiah"  and  ''The  Elijah" 
was  an  especial  delight.  And  she  always  wanted  to  share 
her  pleasures.  To  her  friend,  Mrs.  Drake,  who  was 
obliged  to  give  up  a  promised  visit  to  the  home  in  Ober- 
lin,  she  wrote  : — "  My  heart  was  set  on  your  hearing  the 
'Messiah,'  at  this  Christmas  season.  Never  mind,  you 
and  I  are  going  to  hear  far  finer  chorus  singing  and  help 
in  it  as  well.  It  may  not  be  so  very  many  years  till  then. 
The  choruses  will  be  all  the  sweeter  to  us  because  some 
from  among  the  Indians  and  Chinese  will  be  singing 
there,  and  we  shall  remember  that  we  helped  them  to 
<5ome." 


REST  BY  THE  WAY  2Y5 

A  little  note  written  to  one  of  the  soloists  after  the 
Christmas  concert  of  1893  shows  what  the  music  meant 
to  her. 

"  "We  see  Mary  toiling  over  the  weary  hill.  Joseph  has 
a  bundle  of  rugs  for  the  night's  rest  upon  his  back,  for 
to  this  day,  travellers  in  the  Orient  are  wonted  thus  to  do. 
Night  is  falling ;  there  is  but  one  star  in  the  sky.  Cour- 
age, Mary,  Bethlehem  is  not  far  away.  She  needs  not 
your  word  of  cheer,  serenely  she  walks  on,  overshadowed 
by  the  power  of  the  Highest." 

**  Surely  there  are  good  tidings  for  thee,  O  Zion  !  This 
babe  is  my  King  and  thy  God,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
is  risen,  is  risen  upon  thee  ! " 

*^And  now  we  see  the  flock  by  quiet  waters,  in  sunny 
meadows.  Some  of  those  whom  Thou  dost  gather  are 
our  lambs.  Many  times  hast  Thou  gently  led  us,  O  Shep- 
herd of  our  souls  !  " 


"  The  sunny  streams,  the  green  pastures  are  gone  j  there 
is  darkness  over  the  land  ! 

**0  Lamb  of  God,  is  it  Thou,  who  art  despised  and  re- 
jected, who  art  wounded  and  bruised  for  us  ? 

^^  Break,  heart  of  stone,  and  yet  be  silent  in  His  pres- 
ence ! ' ' 

"May  God  bless  the  singer.  We  thank  her  with  all 
our  hearts.  I.  E.  W." 


I 


VIII 

LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH 

But  if  impatient,  thou  let  slip  thy  cross, 

Thou  wilt  not  find  it  in  this  world  again 

Nor  in  another ;  here  and  here  alone 

Is  given  thee  to  suffer  for  God's  sake. 

In  other  worlds  we  shall  more  perfectly 

Serve  Him  and  love  Him,  praise  Him,  work  for  Him, 

Grow  near  and  nearer  Him  with  all  delight, 

But  then  we  shall  not  any  more  be  called 

To  suffer,  which  is  our  appointment  here. 

If  He  should  call  thee  from  thy  cross  to-day. 

Saying,  "  It  is  finished  !  " — that  hard  cross  of  thine 

From  which  thou  prayest  for  deliverance, 

Thinkest  thou  not  some  passion  of  regret 

Would  overcome  thee?    Thou  wouldst  say,  "So  soon? 

Let  me  go  back  and  suffer  yet  a  while 

More  patiently  ;— I  have  not  yet  praised  God." 

— "  Ugo  BassVa  Sermon  in  the  Hospital,** 

N  the  Slimmer  of  1895  the  Oberlin  home  was  broken 
up,  and  in  August  the  long  journey  to  China  was 
begun. 


^^  Chicago,  111,  Aug.  5,  1895, 
"Dear  Ones: 

"I  passed  a  patient  and  dusty  day,  and  did  what 
I  thought  would  please  you  most, — read  some  in  Mrs. 
Paton's  ^  Letters  from  the  New  Hebrides.'  I  enjoyed  all 
I  read.  That  was  not  until  the  train  had  passed  the 
Western,  where  Margaret  and  Anna  are  going  to  live.    I 

276 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  277 

prayed  for  the  school,  for  you  two,  and  for  you  all ; — that 
is  my  best  help  just  now,  for  my  Father  and  your  Father 
knows  all  about  this  parting, — how  sorrowful  and  yet 
not  all  sorrowful  it  is.  I  listened  for  your  voices  all  day, 
and  thought  how  they  sounded.  Your  Uncle  Thomas 
met  me  and  took  me  to  Glencoe.  I  have  had  such  a  good 
visit. '^ 

"  Beloitj  Wisconsin,  Aug.  6th. 
"What  precious  letters  have  just  come,  and  I  have 
read  them.  How  can  I  ever  go  to  China  and  leave  such 
dear  children  !  But  if  I  couldn't  go  to  China  and  leave 
you,  I  don't  believe  you  would  love  me  as  well  as  you  do. 
How  delightful  to  get  your  letter  written  Monday,  and 
receive  it  here  Tuesday  afternoon  !  We  are  not  far  apart 
yet,  are  we  ?  I  still  keep  listening  for  your  voices,  but  I 
will  be  brave,  as  brave  as  lean.' ^ 

(To  a  sister.) 
"My  most  precious  visit  was  at  our  graves.  Father's 
stone  is  a  noble  one.  I  knelt  there  and  thanked  God  that 
our  beloved  ones  had  been  resting  from  their  labors  for 
all  these  years,  and  that  joy  unspeakable  is  their  constant 
portion  now.  I  prayed  for  every  one  of  our  family  by 
name.     I  hope  God  will  help  me  to  do  it  more  often." 

(To  her  friend  Mrs.  Drake.) 
"  I  value  your  letter  very  much,  and  am  glad  to  have 
it  here  in  Beloit  to  read  to  those  who  love  you  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  mission  band  of  those  long  ago  years.  I  am 
with  Mother  Eiggs  and  Edna.  The  next  whom  I  hope  to 
meet  are  Martha  and  Alfred. 

"I  have  had  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Holtsclaw.  She  says 
of  late  years  she  has  rather  avoided  saying  good-bye  to 
friends,  but  looks  forward,  hoping  ^  in  some  brighter  clime 


278  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

to  say  good-morning/  .  .  .  May  God  bless  you  and 
help  you  to  bear  the  pain  which  comes,  holding  close  to 
His  hand.  May  His  words  be  of  great  comfort  to  you.  I 
have  been  helped  to  bear  the  parting  from  my  precious 
ones.     I  cannot  tell  how  precious  they  are." 

^^Santee  Agency,  Nebraska,  Aug.  19,  1895, 
"  My  Precious  Sistee  Coknelia  : 

"  Your  letter  was  and  is  a  great  pleasure  to  ma  I 
have  read  it  over  many  times.  You  will  be  glad  for  me 
that  Martha  is  going  to  Oahe  and  to  Minneapolis  with 
me.  I  thought  it  was  almost  tragic  for  this  poor  little  bit 
of  a  me  to  go  all  these  miles  alone,  especially  as  I  shall 
have  to  go  alone  to  Vancouver. 

"  My  heart  is  full  of  love  and  prayer  for  you.  I  want 
you  to  be  one  of  the  most  loving,  and  yet  wisest  mothers 
in  the  world.  It  is  easy  to  live  in  a  dull  way,  letting  the 
routine  of  every  day  quiet  the  souFs  most  precious  living 
and  loving.  I  know  that  I  have  failed  in  love  and  un- 
doubtedly in  wisdom  often.  Do  not  let  the  time  pass  by 
until  you  know  your  three  boys  are  safe  for  eternity. 

*'My  darling  children  write  such  good  and  comfortiDg 
letters  to  me,  that  I  go  on  my  way  cheerfully  and  happily, 
for  the  most  part.  The  tears  are  not  far  away,  but  I  do 
not  yield  to  them  much.  If  I  am  to  be  of  service  any- 
where, I  must  keep  my  strength. 

"  Kiss  the  children  at  night  for  me. 

*^  Your  own  loving 

*^  Isabella." 

"  Santee  Agency,  NebrasTca,  Aug.  21,  1895. 
"  My  Dear  Children  : 

^*I  was  delighted  to  get  this  new  letter  to-day. 
The  other  is  good  enough  to  read  over  a  great  many  more 
times.    You  will  try  hard  and  not  feel  lonely  without  me. 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  279 

Pray  a  good  deal  and  read  the  Bible  every  day,  for  you 
cannot  live  near  God  unless  you  do.  My  darlings,  I  kiss 
you  in  my  heart. 

"  My  cousin,  Mrs.  Green,  of  Pittsburg,  has  sent  a  doll 
for  our  little  Li-ya.  I  can  hardly  tell  you  how  glad  I  am 
to  have  you  sewing  ;  it  is  much  more  important  than  you 
know.  I  want  you  to  sew  nicely  ;  to  try  more  and  more 
to  do  nice,  smooth  work.  Next  year  perhaps  you  can  do 
things  for  somebody  else.  I  am  pleased  about  Mary's 
new  waist ;  send  a  bit  in  a  letter,  will  you,  dears  ? 

"  Dear  children,  I  still  think  it  is  true  that  you  love 
me  better  because  I  am  going  out  to  China  than  if  I  said 
weakly,  ^No,  I  cannot  go,  I  cannot  leave  my  children.' '' 

(To  her  sister  Anna.) 
"  Odhe,  South  Dakota,  Aug.  29,  1895, 

"  I  have  you  in  my  heart  during  all  these  days  of  my 
journeying.  It  was  harder  than  I  thought  it  would 
be,  even,  to  part  from  the  children,  and  it  was  very  hard 
for  them.  They  were  very  good  and  brave  for  my  sake, 
and  cheered  me  up  in  all  nice  ways  possible.  And  now 
it  is  good  to  be  here  with  Emily.  And  Martha  is  one  of 
my  blessings.     Pray  for  me  all  the  way. 

*  ^  It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  the  Indians.  There 
are  so  many  strong  faces  among  them, — let  us  pray  much 
for  this  people.  May  God  bless  all  these  who  work  for 
the  Indians  here  and  at  Santee  and  in  all  places. 

* '  Have  I  not  yet  told  you  the  name  of  the  steamer  ?  It 
is  the  Empress  of  China, — quite  appropriate  ;  she  sails 
the  sixteenth  of  September.  May  God  bless  you  and  each 
of  your  dear  ones.  Your  own 

^'Isabella." 

(To  her  children.) 
"While  we  were  at  Santee,  our  room  looked  towards 
the  East,  and  I  looked  out  that  way,  and  thought  of  and 


280  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

prayed  for  you  all, — all  our  family  at  Shandon,  not  you 
four  only.  It  seems  as  if  I'm  thinking  of  you  nearly  all 
the  time, — when  I  see  the  spool-box  or  use  my  little  knife, 
or  take  out  the  pen  Stephen  gave  me. 

'^  Good-bye, — does  it  mean  'Good  be  to  you,'  or  'God 
be  with  you '  ?  Probably  the  latter  :  it  is  my  constant 
prayer.  These  days  of  travel,  and  of  stress  and  strain  of 
heart  make  me  fly  the  more  to  God.     It  is  the  only  way." 

"J^Vom  Minneapolis  to  Seattle,     The  ^  Great  Northern^^ 

''Sept  10,  1895, 
*^My  Dears  : 

*' We  are  in  sight  of  the  snow-capped  mountains. 
They  look  like  our  mountains  on  the  way  to  Kalgan.  How 
the  view  changes !  Now  we  are  passing  a  great  forest  of 
tall,  dead  tamaracks,  now  a  swamp  with  dead  trees  in  stand- 
ing water,  now  the  great,  bare  rocks,  aslant,  more  gray, 
skeleton  trees,  and  high  over  all,  the  snow  peaks.  We 
are  going  down  the  Rockies  ;  now  we  are  in  the  river  bed 
at  Nyack.  This  is  the  Kootenai  Eiver.  Its  rapids  and 
falls  are  exceedingly  beautiful.  Islands  of  rock  rise  here 
and  there  from  the  pale  green  water.  I  cannot  see  them 
too  much ! " 

''Seattle,  Washington,  Sept,  IS,  1895, 
"  My  Dear  Stephen  : 

"  I'm  so  far  safely  on  my  way.  To-day  we  crossed 
the  Cascade  Range.  What  mountains  with  mist  at  the 
tops  !    I  have  never  seen  anything  so  fine. 

"  I  have  been  quite  cheerful,  having  so  much  to  thank 
God  for,  who  has  given  me  such  dear  ones  all.  One 
Friend  has  been  with  me,  nor  will  He  leave  me  ;  should 
any  untoward  thing  happen,  it  would  not  be  that  He  had 
left  me,  but  only  that  He  saw  best.  Of  my  journey  I  will 
say,  God  has  kept  me  from  dangers  seen  and  unseen. 
To-morrow  I  start  for  Vancouver.     .     .     ." 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  281 

^^E,  M.  Steamer  '  Empress  of  China,''  Sept.  16 j  1895. 
"My  Dear,  Dear  Maey  : 

"  We  are  beginning  to  jar  with  the  motion  of  the 
engines.  I  think  I  can  send  this  note  from  Victoria. 
You  dear  children  have  been  such  a  joy  to  me  with  your 
loving  letters.  I  am  very  glad  of  our  three  years  together  ; 
it  will  help  us  even  in  heaven  j  and  if  in  the  ways  where 
we  may  have  a  few  times  failed  to  do  our  best,  we  try 
now,  in  the  time  that  comes  next,  to  do  better, — God  will 
help  us. 

"Now  I  am  on  the  steamer  it  seems  easier  to  go  to 
China  than  before.  This  is  our  home,  if  God  is  willing, 
until  we  touch  China's  soil.  These  are  beautiful  shores 
through  which  we  pass,  with  foliage  close  to  the  water's 
edge.  It  is  ^  God  save  the  Queen,'  for  this  is  British  do- 
minion.    .     .     . 

"  Good-bye  for  this  time,  my  precious  child.  I  keep 
your  rose  very  carefully. 

"I  am  always  your  loving  mother, 

"  Isabella  R.  Williams.^' 

(To  her  sister  Martha.) 
"  The  ^Empress  of  CMna,^  Sept.  ^7,  1895. 

"Two  days  more,  and  the  third  day  we  shall  beat 
Yokohama.  It  is  only  noon,  but  you  notice  I  do  not 
count  to-day  !  That  is  the  cheerful  way  of  taking  it.  We 
had  an  excellent  lesson  this  morning, — ^  The  joy  of  the 
Lord  is  your  strength.'  Dr.  Hartshorne  led  us  in  our 
Bible  hour,  and  we  had  a  time  of  real  spiritual  uplift. 
(He  is  the  author  of  the  small  medical  book  which  has 
been  my  chief  stay  for  the  last  twenty  years.)  There  are 
forty-two  missionaries  on  board,  thirty-four  of  whom  are 
for  China. 

"  I  have  read  ^  The  Stickit  Minister '  over  again.  One 
day  I  picked  up  '  A  Social  Departure '  by  Sara  Jeanette 


282  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Duncan.  I  read  in  it  an  hour,  and  had  a  good  deal  of 
amusement  over  it.  The  heroine  was  getting  scalded  in 
her  Japanese  bath  tub  when  I  left  her,  because  she  had  it 
heated  with  coal  instead  of  charcoal.'' 


^' September  29th. 
**  Land  in  sight !    Little  boats  with  sails,  a  lighthouse, 
and  still  a  lovely  smooth  sea.     We  have  had  service  and 
a  good  sermon  by  Archdeacon  Warren." 


^^  On  the  *Pei  JTe,'  out  from  Tientsin^ 
''Oct,  18,  1895. 
** My  Dears: 

**  Here  we  are  on  the  river,  coming  down  to  Tung- 
chou.  As  our  dinner  is  a-cooking  the  fumes  of  charcoal 
drive  us  out  on  the  front  of  the  boat.  We  are  not  very 
far  from  Tungchou,  though  we  cannot  see  the  Pagoda  yet. 
The  beautiful  blue  Western  Hills  !  they  rejoice  my  eyes. 
We  saw  them  almost  all  day  yesterday,  and  to-day  they 
are  very  lovely  indeed.  It  has  been  a  pretty  sight  to 
watch  the  six  boats  ahead  of  us  rounding  a  curve  of  the 
stream,  and  it  seems  all  curves  and  angles ! '' 

''  Peking  J  Oct.  22,  1895. 
"  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  all  the  Tungchou 
friends,  especially  Mrs.  Sheffield,  Miss  Andrews  and 
Abbie.  I  came  first  to  the  city  house,  and  then  walked 
out  to  the  new  grounds  with  Miss  Miner.  Your  father  has 
probably  told  you  of  our  delightful  luncheon  yesterday 
with  Professor  and  Mrs.  Headland. 
"Good-night,  my  dear,  dear  children. 

"Lovingly  your 

"MOTHEB." 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  283 

^^KalgarijOct,  SO,  1895. 
'*  My  Deab  Stephen  : 

*^  I  thought  of  you  all,  all  the  way  up  from  Peking, 
and  there  were  bits  of  interest  by  the  way  which  re- 
minded me  of  those  who  used  to  be  my  companions  on  the 
journey  over  this  road.  And  here  we  are  at  home  again. 
I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  j  although  I  cannot  be  of  much 
use,  yet  there  will  be  little  ways  in  which  I  can  help.  I 
hope  to  be  of  comfort  to  Etta,  who  has  her  hands  full  of 
work.  She  has  her  school,  which  of  itself  is  enough,  and 
then  she  has  Bible  women  to  oversee  and  calls  to  make. 

"  .  .  .  I  miss  you  all.  I  should  be  glad  that  I  miss 
you,  as  I  could  not  if  we  had  not  been  a  family  together 
for  these  years." 

^^  Noveniber  6j  1895. 

"  I  went  to  prayers  at  the  school  with  Etta  this  morn- 
ing. I  shall  try  to  get  acquainted  with  the  girls,  and  so 
may  begin  to  have  influence  with  them.  Leah,  our 
*  Butter  Baby,'  lives  with  Mrs.  Sung  in  our  yard.  She 
is  a  cunning  little  thing,  quite  plump,  and  Mrs.  Sung  is 
very  good  to  her.  To-night  I  am  to  take  the  girls  to  the 
Anti-Foot-Binding  Meeting,  the  new  Peoples'  Society. 

*'The  Station  Class  has  been  gathered  together  by  Mr. 
Sprague,  and  the  students  have  come  all  at  once.  The 
boys  and  men  came  and  bowed  to  me  in  great  shape.  It 
was  too  dark  to  see  if  I  knew  any  of  them.  A  woman 
has  picked  camel's  hair  in  my  room  for  a  few  days,  and 
she  is  sewing  to-day  on  felt  door-curtains  for  the  Girls' 
School.  Her  husband  is  an  opium  user,  and  she  says  he 
wants  to  leave  off.  She  saw  my  bed  and  said,  *What 
nice,  thick  bedclothes  you  have  ! '  I  asked,  *  How  many 
comfortables  would  your  husband's  opium  buy  in  a  year  f ' 
She  replied,  '•  Oh,  as  many  as  six  to  ten  big  ones ! ' 

**  Etta  has  twenty  girls  now,  and  it  is  no  fun  to  manage 


284  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

them  without  a  good  matron.  I  hope  to  be  well  enough 
to  help  soon.  The  best  woman  we  can  get  is  very  poor 
for  that  place.  To-night  Teacher  Choa  read  constitution 
and  by-laws  of  the  Girls'  School  to  the  assembled  wise 
men  of  Kalgan,  Feng  Ke  Hsien  Sheng,  the  two  Gao 
brothers,  young  Mr.  Pan  and  Loa  Su  Tang.'' 

^^  December  22,  1895. 
*^I  look  up  and  see  your  photographs  and  say  *My 
darlings!'  many  times  a  day.  I  am  enjoying  Mary's 
high  school  picture  much.  I  look  first  for  my  Lark's 
dear  eyes.  ...  I  am  remembering  my  promise  to 
you  to  try  to  have  a  nice  Christmas,  and  have  been  doing 
things  all  day,  — putting  the  rooms  more  as  you  would 
like  them,  making  your  father  a  neck-bow,  and  other 
pleasant  little  Christmas  things.  We  are  all  to  have 
prayers  together  on  Christmas  morning." 

'^Kalgan,  Jan.  4,  1896. 
*^  My  Dear  Stephen  : 

^^  We  are  looking  for  letters  every  day.  I  am  not 
writing  you  children  many  letters,  but  I  hope  you  will 
keep  up  your  share  of  the  writing, — the  letters  do  us  so 
much  good  when  they  come.  Your  father,  at  least,  is 
faithful  to  his  part.  Our  life  is  less  varied  than  yours ; 
there  seems  little  to  tell,  and  of  course  to  me  things  are 
changed,  and  I  miss  the  rest  of  you.  How  nice  it  would 
be  if  you  could  step  in  and  hang  up  two  or  three  pictures 
for  me  !  Our  servant  is  cross-eyed  and  has  a  bad  memory, 
and  I  have  had  to  labor  with  him  to  remember  to  rub  up 
my  stove  so  continually  that  I  haven't  yet  attempted  to 
try  him  at  picture-hanging  ! 

''  I  think  if  I  were  stronger,  I  would  go  slumming,  as 
do  the  Salvation  Army  people.  I  have  a  good  oppor- 
tunity. Hsin  Wu  comes  to  see  me  as  often  as  once  a 
week,  and  I  am  trying  to  do  what  I  ought  for  her.    I 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  286 

hope  she  is  a  Christian,  and  know  that  I  must  not  let  go 
hold  of  her.  She  is  a  beggar,  and  dresses  as  one,  but  she 
does  not  go  on  the  street  to  beg  much  now.  Not  long  ago 
I  helped  her  make  a  comfortable  for  herself.  It  cost 
about  fifty  cents  gold.  I  shouted  in  her  best  ear  that  I 
wanted  her  to  pray  and  repeat  some  Bible  verses  when 
she  sleeps  in  the  new  warm  comfort,  and  she  will  do  it.  I 
have  had  the  Lord's  Prayer  written  in  large  characters 
for  her.  I  know  I  pay  her  more  than  her  work  is  worth 
sometimes,  and  I  give  her  house  rent  outright, — fifteen 
cents  a  month.  But  I  am  trying  to  help  her  to  work  for 
herself.  God  has  given  me  everything, — some  of  His 
children  have  given  me  much.  ^  Freely  ye  have  received, 
freely  give.'  I  do  hope  she  is  a  Christian.  We  read  to- 
gether every  time  she  comes." 

^'•January  7th. 
"  Your  letters  came  yesterday,  and  it  is  great  joy.  We 
had  been  waiting  for  them,  and  they  were  worth  waiting 
for  !  I  wish  you  could  come  in  and  sing  out  ^  Beetle  Pie,' 
and  snatches  of  various  things.  I  have  sung  a  few  bits 
from  the  Messiah  once  in  a  while,  especially  the  week 
before  Christmas,  and  it  made  me  think  of  you.     .     .     ." 

^^Kalgan^  Jan,  29,  1896, 
*'My  Dear  Sisters,  Anna  and  Cornelia  : 

^^  It  seemed  for  a  while  after  I  reached  here  that 
life  had  come  to  a  standstill.  I  found  the  journey  trying  ; 
the  first  week  on  the  ocean  and  the  last  week  of  the  land 
route  were  very  cold,  and  this  last  was  especially  hard  as 
we  were  obliged  to  be  up  and  eat  a  few  morsels  so  very 
early.  The  days  were  short,  and  if  we  were  not  off  by 
six  we  were  too  late  reaching  the  inns  by  night.  How- 
ever, that  is  long  past. 

"It  takes  quite  a  while  to  become  used  to  changed  con- 
ditions.    It  is  not  easy  to  fall  into  home  life  where  the 


286  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

dear  ones  for  whom  their  father  and  I  have  both  lived,  and 
who  did  so  much  to  make  the  life  comfortable  and  joyful 
are  not  here.  Everything  reminds  us  of  them — the  old, 
because  our  children  used  to  be  caring  for  those  bits  of 
furniture  or  pictures  or  books  j  the  new,  because  the  later 
home  life  was  set  in  these, — this  picture  was  for  Christ- 
mas, or  that  for  my  birthday, — these  books  speak  of  our 
last  holidays  together,  those  of  the  one  before.  It  is  joy 
that  we  had  ^  joys^  together.  Perhaps  we  had  more  than 
the  common  lot  of  people,  because  the  shadow  of  this 
separation  hung  near  us,  constraining  us  to  be  more  care- 
ful— more  gentle  and  loving. 

**  I  think  of  you  and  love  you,  and  remember  so  many 
things.  Lovingly  your  sister, 

*^  Isabella." 

^^Kalgauj  Feb,  5,  1896 
"  My  Peecious  Deaes  : 

"  We  enjoy  your  letters  so  very  much, — those  from 
all  of  you.  Indeed  they  are  our  one  great  j  oy .  I  have  j  ust 
brightened  up  my  glasses  with  my  Valentine  wiper,  and 
the  stove  holder  which  you  sent  your  father  lies  by  me  as 
I  write,  as  he  prizes  it  so  much  he  keeps  it  for  a  desk 
or  table  ornament !  Next  winter  perhaps  it  will  see  serv- 
ice,— unless,  indeed,  we  frame  it !  Our  organ  is  now  in 
the  sitting-room.  The  schoolgirls  come  and  sing  with  me 
about  twice  a  week." 

'^February  21st, 

"  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  began  this  letter.  Etta  has  had 
an  attack  of  diphtheria,  and  was  quarantined  in  her  room 
at  the  schoolhouse.  I  did  most  of  the  waiting  on  her, 
but  towards  the  last  your  father  helped,  as  I  seemed  to  be 
too  tired  for  safety. 

"Your  Christmas  letters  are  a  feast  for  us ;  we  feel  just 
how  it  all  was,  just  as  if  we  were  there.    I  can  see  you  at 


LOYE  NEVER  FAILETH  287 

the  table,  each  one,  and  then  again  by  the  fireplace,  and 
again,  I  hear  you  singing  in  the  parlor.  I  feel  like  a  glad 
shadow,  flitting  here  and  again  there,  conscious  of  every- 
thing and  every  one,  although  not  seen  by  any  one. 

"  Hsin  Wu  comes  to  see  me  quite  often.  She  feels  that 
I  am  the  best  friend  she  has,  and  I  feel  that  I  must  not 
give  her  up,  but  must  fight  to  save  her  for  heaven.  *  We 
wrestle  not  with  fiesh  and  blood,  but  with  principalities 
and  powers.  ^     This  is  one  reason  why  I  write  few  letters. ' ' 

'^  March  11,  1896. 

"The  Board  has  been  obliged  to  cut  down  our  appro- 
priations. It  cuts  off  ten  per  cent,  from  our  salaries. 
All  the  work  is  cut  down  in  the  same  way,  and  it  is  dread- 
ful to  have  the  helpers^  small  allowances  made  smaller. 
One  helper  has  to  be  dismissed,  also  a  chapel-keeper,  a 
good  man,  Li  He  Lin,  who  was  in  the  Station  Class  when 
you  were  here.  We  women  cannot  bear  to  have  it  so, 
and  we  are  going  to  make  up  what  they  lose  for  two 
months,  at  any  rate.  After  that  we  shall  see.  We  all 
know  we  can  find  ways  to  save  a  little.  Cora  says  going 
without  one  dinner  a  week  will  do  it.  I  say  we  shall  not 
need  to  go  without  any  meals,  but  cut  off  on  some  of  the 
more  expensive  things.  One  of  the  helpers  suggested 
that  the  missionaries  do  without  chickens.  One  said, 
*  Isn't  a  helper  better  than  a  cow  ? '  I  do  not  feel  as  if  I 
ever  wanted  anything  for  myself  anymore  ! 

".  .  .  I  am  glad  that  there  is  still  a  little  left  of 
what  I  call  *  God's  money'  which  we  can  draw  on  in  an 
emergency.  You  will  be  interested  in  the  whole  history 
which  those  forty-four  dollars  represent.  It  is  quite  in- 
teresting ;  starting  twenty  and  more  years  ago  with  $500. 
Your  father  gave  it  to  me  as  my  share  of  money  we  had 
saved  by  economy.  I  lent  it  to  several  friends  for  a  few 
years  ^  then  it  went  into  the  Minneapolis  lot,  which  was  a 


288  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

good  investment,  leaving  $1,000  instead  of  $500.  The 
Girls'  School  houses  were  built  with  it ;  three  rooms  for 
the  Station  Class,  200  taels  put  into  the  Upper  City  house, 
and  the  Mongol  land  bought  for  Hsin  Wu  and  her  chil- 
dren. I  hope  she  has  not  been  helped  in  vain.  The 
money  is  the  Lord's.  I  gave  back  to  Him  what  He  gave 
us,  and  have  tried  all  the  time  to  do  just  what  He  would 
have  me  do.  I  have  given  the  history  in  brief.  God  has 
been  very  good  to  me,  and  has  yet  blessings  in  store  for 
us  all.  .  .  .  Dear  Stephen,  I  remember  our  times  to- 
gether with  joy.  God  was  good  to  us.  I  thank  Him. 
.    .     .     Good-night  to  you  all." 

"  Kalgarij  April  4,  1896, 
"My  Dears  : 

"  The  schoolgirls  cleaned  house  to-day,  and  I  went 
down  to  ^  gwan '  them.  Some  lazy  girls  found  it  hard  to 
take  their  ease,  yet  all  the  same,  I  got  not  much  out  of 
them.  I  am  not  fond  of  shirks.  Those  who  worked  well 
I  was  pleased  with. 

"Margaret  and  Anna  will  be  pleased  to  know  that  the 
sixth  *  K'an-chien-tz '  has  been  made  from  their  ^  rain- 
bow dresses  ! '  The  last  are  for  Liya  and  San  Kai-tz. 
San  Kai-tz  is  the  cunningest  little  dear,  but  exceedingly 
ragged.  These  last  K'an-chien-tzs  are  triumphs  of  piec- 
ing." 

^^  April  mh. 

"We  took  all  our  blossoming  plants  to  the  church  on 
Easter  Sunday ;  Etta's  and  my  calla  lilies,  my  lovely 
pink  geranium,  and  her  Japan  lily. 

"We  have  been  feeling  terribly  the  reduction  of  allow- 
ances for  the  work  in  general.  I  think  about  this, — we 
all  do, — a  great  deal.  The  Chinese  Christians  are  going 
to  help  ;  our  church  contributions  have  accumulated  so 
that  there  is  enough  to  pay  one  helper.     The  Christian 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  289 

Endeavor  Society  is  going  to  pay  another  helper's  salary. 
Even  then  there  is  not  enough  to  go  round.  The  Pe- 
king Christians  have  taken  up  a  contribution  for  the 
Armenians. 

*^  Tsai  Ching,  the  first  Christian  received  into  our  Kal- 
gan  church,  has  died  lately.  He  has  been  feeble  for 
some  years.  His  son,  Tsai  Fu  Yuan,  is  one  of  our  best 
helpers. '' 

(To  Mrs.  Green,  of  Pittsburg,  who  was  supporting  little 
Liya,  the  ''  Butter  Baby.") 

''May  9,  1896, 
''  My  Dear  Cousin  : 

**  There  are  some  pleasant  bits  to  tell  you  of  the 
little  sister  Liya.  We  say  it  with  a  pretty  toss  up  of  the 
last  syllable  and  quick  emphasis, — Li-ya.  She  is  a  quiet 
little  thing,  but  chatters  merrily  to  any  one  of  her  friends. 
She  sings  a  number  of  tunes  very  well  for  a  wee  tot  only 
five  years  old.  We  hope  she  may  learn  to  play  the  organ. 
Our  plan  for  the  schoolgirls  whose  feet  are  not  bound  is 
that  they  shall  be  given  organ  lessons.  If  they  will  deny 
themselves  jewelry,  I  think  many  of  them  can  have  a 
baby-organ  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  There  are 
three  ready  to  begin  now ;  the  others  are  too  young.  It 
will  be  a  good  thing  if  our  girls  will  stop  wearing  tin 
finger-sheaths.  One  of  them  said,  '  Am  I  really  to  prac- 
tice on  the  organ  1  I'll  have  my  long  finger-nails  cut  off 
to-day  ! '  The  other  two  girls  had  no  long  nails,  but 
wore  the  sheaths  for  beauty's  sake  ! 

''  Liya  is  proud  of  being  a  pupil  in  the  school.  She 
has  a  book,  a  San  Tzu  Ching,  and  looks  wise  and  impor- 
tant while  carrying  it  about.  She  takes  a  great  deal  of 
delight  in  the  doll  you  sent  her.  I  have  one  doll  dressed 
in  Chinese  clothes.  It  is  for  a  little  girl  who  has  no 
pleasures  and  cannot  come  to  school.     .     .     ," 


290  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'^  Kalgauj  May  18,  1896, 
**  My  Dear  Children  : 

"  I  am  trying  outdoor  life  these  days.  This  morning  I 
was  up  at  four  to  water  the  flowers,  and  transplanted 
twenty-five  little  tomato  plants.  I  have  three  string 
beans  from  Macalester,  St.  Paul,  for  whose  uprising  I 
look  anxiously.  My  glory  flowers  are  up  and  my  sweet 
peas.  Nothing  will  come  up  unless  watered  every  day. 
We  have  a  new  man  for  gardener, — Chang,  six  feet  high. 
Etta  has  been  calling  Wang  our  *  henchman,^  so  we  have 
dubbed  this  man  the  ^  trenchman.'  He  waters  the  trees 
and  grape-vine,  carries  the  water  for  my  flower  beds,  digs 
all  the  trenches  for  me  and  makes  himself  generally  very 
useful.  Just  now  I  see  Mrs.  Sung  and  the  schoolgirls  out 
picking  clover  for  a  relish  for  their  morning  meal.  I'll 
have  some  clover  cooked  too, — the  tender  ends  I  shall 
try! 

^^Dr.  Waples  left  for  Peking  this  morning,  so  Cora  and 
^  Dorothy  Delight '  are  alone.  To-morrow  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sprague  and  Etta  start  for  mission  meeting,  ^  my  Fin- 
nette'  on  her  horse.  I  hope  to  take  the  schoolgirls 
home  to  Ching  Ke  Ta  next  week." 

''May  25,  1896. 
''  Think  of  it !  We  have  had  six  Swedish  guests  and  a 
wedding  !  The  eventful  day  is  over,  and  Miss  Brulin  and 
Miss  Ericsson  are  now  Mrs.  Lundberg  and  Mrs.  Bing- 
mark.  Saturday  morning  brought  the  Swedish  mission- 
aries here,  and  to-day  was  chosen  for  the  wedding.  We 
took  all  our  flowers  to  the  church  ;  Etta's  Japanese  lilies 
have  had  a  marvellous  number  of  buds,  and  to-day  six  of 
them  bloomed  at  once,  as  if  they  knew  there  was  to  be  a 
wedding  !  Cora  played  the  organ,  and  Mrs.  Mateer  and  I 
walked  with  the  brides  to  the  church  door,  when  we 
stepped  aside,  and  the  gentlemen  took  our  places.     The 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  291 

bell  rang  at  3  :  30,  and  again  at  4  :  00,  so  it  was  very 
cheerful,  and  after  the  ceremony,  when  we  were  giving 
our  congratulations,  Mr.  Lundberg  said  gratefully,  *It 
was  very  nice, — the  bell  ringing,  and  organ  playing,  and 
the  flowers  so  beautiful.' 

"  This  evening,  two  more  Swedish  brethren,  who  belong 
to  the  China  Inland  Mission,  have  arrived,  and  it  is 
seven  people  who  are  to  take  breakfast  with  us  to-mor- 
row morning,  ma'am  !  I  have  my  pretty  gray  dress  on 
in  honor  of  the  wedding,  and  my  old  gray  shawl,  in 
honor  of  the  severe  weather.  The  bracing  effect  of  snow 
on  Mt.  Gilmour  makes  me  domestic  in  my  tastes,  and  I 
read  Alexander  on  the  Psalms  while  hovering  at  one  side  of 
the  kitchen  stove.  I  have  been  dipping  into  the  life  of  J. 
Addison  Alexander,  Professor  at  Princeton.  He  was  an 
exceedingly  learned  and  gifted  man,  but  the  life  is  not 
well  written, — the  nephew  who  wrote  it  must  be  a  lawyer, 
— ^he  brings  people  up  as  witnesses  to  prove  that  J.  A.  A. 
was  learned  and  witty,  enthusiastic  and  affectionate  and 
so  forth,  and  so  forth, — which  I  never  doubted  !  The 
Commentary  on  the  Psalms  is  to  me  the  best  possible.  I 
have  spent  hundreds  of  hours  with  it  at  hand,  when 
studying  the  Psalms.     .     .     .'' 

^^Kalgan,  May  30,1896. 
"  My  Darlings  : 

^^  I  must  write  you  a  birthday  letter  to  remind  you 
again  how  glad  I  am  that  God  gave  you  to  us,  to  me, — 
and  how  glad  I  am  that  you  have  been  kept  for  me,  and 
for  each  other,  and  for  the  rest,  so  far  on  life's  road.  It 
cannot  always  be  so  ;  one  by  one  we  shall  go,  but  keep  in 
mind  beforehand  that  as  we  go  away,  we  go  to  the  dear 
Saviour  and  to  our  Father  in  heaven,  not  to  be  alone 
and  lonely,  and  not  to  be  separated  from  each  other  for 
what  will  be  a  long  time  really. 


292  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'*  I  miss  you  all  the  time,  yet  for  your  sakes  I  am  always 
glad  you  are  not  with  me.  It  is  your  time  for  study  and 
improvement  in  every  way.  My  dears,  my  dears!  be 
sure  not  to  forget  the  good  things  Tve  taught  you." 

"  June  2d. 

"We  cleaned  house  to-day.  I  read  two  chapters  of 
A.  L.  O.  E.^s  ^Giants'  with  the  teacher  while  the  tacks 
were  being  taken  out  of  the  carpet.  I  like  these  books 
in  Chinese, — ^Gwen,^  ^Christie's  Old  Organ,'  'Jessica's 
First  Prayer,'  the  'Woodcutter  of  Lebanon,'  the  'Gar- 
den of  the  Cross '  and  this  '  Giant  Killer '  better  than  in 
English  ; — they  are  more  fun ;  the  different  language 
adds  a  charm. 

"  Such  good  letters  came  to-day, — from  all  of  you  chil- 
dren, and  from  your  aunts  Martha  and  Cornelia  and  your 
Uncle  Thomas.  We  read  and  read  !  I  ate  my  hsi-jo 
quickly,  and  read  by  snatches,  and  we  kept  on  reading 
afterwards." 

"It  is  so  good  to  have  Miss  Andrews  here  with  us  this 
summer.  We  take  knowledge  of  her  that  she  has  been 
with  Jesus.  The  sight  of  her  makes  us  all  want  to  grow 
in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
I  like  to  take  that  verse  by  parts, — 'grow  in  the  Jcnoicl- 
edge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  I  am  glad  we  have  as 
many  commentaries  on  the  Bible  as  we  have.  I  well  re- 
member my  joy  in  reading  Bush's  Notes  on  Genesis, 
Exodus,  Joshua  and  Judges.  We  get  good  from  Miss 
Andrews  whenever  she  speaks  of  a  Bible  verse  or  pas- 
sage. She  has  the  Holy  Spirit  as  her  teacher,  and  He 
takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shows  them  to  her  with 
a  beauty  and  clearness  which  we  do  not  all  receive.  But 
we  may  yet  have  this  clear  vision  if  we  long  for  it  and 
pray  for  it  as  she  has  done, — not  for  her  own  joy,  but 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH 

that  she  might  better  do  God's  will,  and  better  teach  it 
to  her  beloved  Chinese  people.'' 

^*  July  6,  1896. 
"Dear  Ducks  : 

^*If  you  were  here  I  would  rightly  call  you  that, 
for  you  would  be  off  in  the  rain  to  see  the  torrent  bed  ! 
My  lovely  glory  flowers  have  their  poor  heads  bent  down 
with  a  weight  of  rain-drops.     The  rainbow  is  glorious  ! 

"  Such  good  letters  came  to-day  !  We  like  to  pay  ten 
cents  extra  on  your  letters, — we  really  do, — and  it  was 
well  worth  it.  Still  for  economy's  sake  (I'm  getting  to 
hate  economy  sometimes),  if  you  would  have  your  letters 
weighed  every  time  you  send  them,  it  would  be  well.  I 
dislike  the  present  postal  arrangement  by  which  your 
five  cent  stamp  goes  for  nothing  if  the  letter  is  the  least 
bit  over  weight,  and  a  red  ten  cent  *  Postage  Due'  is 
clapped  on  !  It  is  not  quite  fair,  but  when  I  think  that 
our  ten  cents  help  to  support  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, I  feel  quite  pleased  and  Fourth-of-July-like  and 
Star-Spangled-Banner-y !  We  have  just  celebrated  the 
Fourth,  and  made  quite  a  success  of  it.  Miss  Hinman 
had  a  sonnet,  which  made  us  all  feel  Uike  folks'  ! 
Something  original  for  the  occasion  sounds  really  well. 

"  I  weed  and  transplant  in  the  mornings  before  break- 
fast, getting  up  at  five  or  earlier.  I  have  watermelons 
and  muskmelons  growing  from  seeds  brought  from  Oahe. 
My  locust  trees,  Robinia  Pseudacacia,  are  as  tall  as  two 
pins  !  I  do  delight  in  seeing  them  grow.  There  is  one 
thing  I'd  like  for  a  birthday  present, — seeds, — white  and 
scarlet  verbenas  especially.  The  ants  have  eaten  up  all 
my  young  seedlings.  We  have  small  and  lai'ge  ants, 
regiments  of  them,  working  to  improve  this  soil.  One 
should  not  grudge  to  laborers  their  food,  but  they  choose 
very  tender  salads  !    My  mornings  out-of-doors  do  me 


2U  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

great  good.  I  am  truly  stronger  than  last  year  at  this 
time. 

"  I  am  rejoicing  over  the  copy  of  the  ^  Elijah '  which  you 
sent.  There  is  not  much  that  I  can  try  except  '  O  Rest 
in  the  Lord/  and  ^He  watching  over  Israel,'  but  I  think 
about  it  all ! 

'*  Hsin  Wu  is  sick.  I  am  going  to  see  her  to-morrow. 
Her  little  daughter  came  to  ask  me  this  evening.  Good- 
night.    God  bless  you  all.'' 

''July  21,  1896, 
''  My  Dears,  All  of  You  : 

*'I  always  prepare  to  write  by  reading  your  last 
letters  over.  It  is  one  of  my  very  nicest  times.  To-day 
while  I  was  reading,  two  women  came  in  to  visit,  and  I 
told  them  of  you  all  and  we  had  a  nice  talk.  These  days 
we  have  many  women  visitors  ;  yesterday  as  many  as  a 
dozen  came,  and  the  day  before  thirty  and  over.  I  sing 
a  hymn  for  them.  They  like  it  best  of  anything.  I  re- 
member how  you  used  to  help  me  sing  ! 

"The  wild  pink  morning-glories  are  all  a-bloom.  I 
shall  send  you  some  forget-me-nots  which  we  gathered 
after  a  mountain  climb." 

''July  22d, 

"  Fve  been  moiling  in  the  garden  this  morning,  trans- 
planting portulacas.  It  is  restful  to  be  out  among  the 
flowers  before  breakfast,  and  it  is  a  good  time  to  pray. 
Do  not  forget  us  in  your  daily,  private  prayer.  Satan  is 
keen  to  hinder  us  in  every  possible  way, — in  our  growth 
towards  God,  in  our  work  for  this  people.  It  seems  as  if 
no  temptation  could  keep  us  from  doing  with  our  might 
what  we  can  to  save  souls,  but  the  most  wily  and  subtle 
ones  do  come  to  us.  The  care  of  finances  to  some  ;  the 
lack  of  money  to  others  ;  even  very  proper  and  necessary 
recreation  passes  over  its  proper  time  and  is  a  tempta- 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  295 

tion.  The  poor  use  of  Chinese  hinders  others.  Our 
separation  from  other  missionaries  helps  to  accentuate 
the  difficulties.  Pray  much  for  us,  and  if  you  find  your- 
selves not  so  near  to  God  as  it  is  your  privilege  to  be, 
win  your  way  back  to  His  feet,  that  your  entreaties  may 
help  us.     .     .     ." 

^^  August  1 J  1896. 
"  Dear  Sister  Martha  : 

** .  .  .  I  am  doing  very  little  missionary  work, 
but  am  trying  to  win  back  strength  before  our  school  be- 
gins. I  appear  to  be  gardening,  but  that  is  not  my  chief 
end,  I  hope.  This  week  I  have  gone  once  to  the  Bible 
woman's  home,  and  the  day  following,  with  her  to  four 
homes,  where  we  told  the  story  of  Christ  to  a  number  of 
women. 

^*  I  am  just  as  I  was  when  with  you,  except  possibly  a 
little  stronger,  not  being  under  so  great  a  stress  of  feeling 
as  then.  When  I  think  it  over,  it  seems  as  if  every- 
thing was  made  so  easy  for  me  then.  I  enjoyed  so  muchy 
and  so  many  things, — the  quiet  time  at  San  tee  with  its 
leisure  for  writing  and  resting, — our  lovely  visit  at  Oahe, 
— the  great  kindness  of  all  our  friends  at  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis, — and  all  the  dear  between-times,  which  were 
yours  and  mine  together.     ..." 

^^  Kalgan,  Aug.  3j  1896. 
"  My  Dear  Mary  : 

''We  have  been  keeping  your  birthday  in  antici- 
pation for  several  days,  thinking  of  you,  and  being  glad 
in  the  thinking.  I  am  wondering  if  it  will  ever  be  our 
joy  to  have  you  out  here  with  us.  Perhaps  some  other 
plan  of  life  is  God's  choice  for  you.  Keep  on  writing 
your  cheery  letters.  We  fairly  live  on  the  letters  from 
you  all, — perhaps  too  much  so.     As  I  wrote  that,  the 


296  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

verse  came  to  mind,  ^Christ,  who  is  our  life.'  Pray  for 
us  still  more  and  more.  I  am  lonely,  missing  you  all, 
though  I  ought  not  to  be,  and  need  not  be. 

"  Mrs.  Sprague,  Mrs.  Mateer  and  Miss  Andrews  will 
take  tea  with  us  to-night,  in  honor  of  your  birthday. 
How  nice  if  you  five  could  all  fly  and  be  here  too  !  I 
know,  dear  child,  you  have  thought  of  us  many  times 
to-day.  I  shall  look  at  the  rose  you  gave  me  last  birth- 
day, the  day  we  parted.  Good-bye,  and  may  God  bless 
you  this  and  every  day." 

August  19th, 
^^Etta  had  a  picnic  for  a  few  of  our  women  and  girls 
yesterday.  They  went  to  the  pine  grove  at  Yung  Feng 
Pu.  Do  you  remember  Huan  Huau,  the  only  girl  who 
had  unbound  feet  when  you  were  here  ?  She  is  a  nice- 
looking  girl,  even  pretty,  and  she  is  good.  She  has  just 
been  betrothed  to  Een  Te  Ming,  and  he  was  there  to-day, 
— courting,  do  you  suppose  ?  Professedly,  he  was  there 
to  study  witii  the  up-town  school-teacher  ! " 

^^  August  S  1st, 
"  Etta  has  been  away  on  her  tour  to  Ching  Ke  Ta  and 
neighboring  villages  since  the  twenty-fifth  of  August, 
and  these  rains  will  prevent  her  from  returning  for  some 
days  at  least.  Fords  are  impassable,  and  the  mud  roads 
are  Sloughs  of  Despond. 

"Kao  Yueh's  little  baby  died  to-day.  We  lined  the 
little  box,  and  picked  the  prettiest  white  flowers, — sweet 
peas  and  fragrant  pinks, — with  mignonette.  Then  we 
put  the  baby  boy  into  the  tiny  cof&n,  and  laid  the  flowers 
in  his  hands,  and  he  looked  very  sweet,  as  if  asleep. 
Mrs.  Sprague' s  tuberoses  blossomed  just  in  time  to  use. 
To-night  I  saw  Kao  Yueh  picking  a  bouquet,  which  I 
thought  was  to  lay  on  the  grave.     I  told  your  father  so. 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  297 

He  said  immediately,  'It  is  for  his  wife.'  'No  China- 
man would  pick  a  bouquet  for  his  wife,'  I  said,  but  your 
father  replied,  ^No  Chinaman  only  one  generation  re- 
moved from  throwing  babies  uncoffined  away,  would  pick 
a  bouquet  for  the  grave.'  It  proved  that  the  bouquet  was 
for  his  wife ! 

' '  I  am  helping  Hsin  Wu  these  days  by  letting  her  dig 
up  weeds  for  me  and  help  me  in  the  garden.  My  flowers 
are  a  delight.  I  have  four-o' clocks  which  I  love  in  secret, 
and  mignonette  which  I  dote  on  publicly,  a  few  decent 
portulacas,  two  stalks  of  coreopsis  and  some  snapdragons 
as  my  old  friends,  besides  the  blossoming  peas  from  the 
Shandon  garden  and  my  Kalgan  rose-balsams. 

''Miss  Andrews  has  prayers  with  our  men  while  Etta 
is  away.  I'm  glad  that  she  does,  for  it  is  a  bit  of  heaven 
to  be  where  she  is,  and  must  do  them  good.     .     .     ." 

^' September  11,  1896, 
"Fm  putting  up  catsup  nowadays,  and  to-day  for  a 
cork  I  whittled  down  the  last  of  Stephen's  checker-men 
which  Mr.  Thompson  gave  him  many  years  ago.  A  few 
of  the  kindergarten  cubes  which  Miss  Simmons  of  Beloit 
gave  to  the  twins,  and  which  have  faces  drawn  on  them 
with  ink,  I  keep  with  a  motley  collection  of  blocks  for 
Liya  to  play  with  when  she  comes  in  with  San  Kai  Tzu 
and  Lao  Ku  Tzu  and  the  (almost)  blind  baby. 

"The  seventh  and  last  'K'an-chien-tz'  of  rainbow 
make  is  done.  I  presented  it  to  Wang  Shih  Te,  and  he 
was  struck  dumb,  so  I  did  not  give  it  to  him  (except  in 
an  Indian  manner),  and  shall  keep  it  in  the  dining-room 
for  his  eyes  to  gaze  upon  until  he  gets  his  voice.  It's 
rare  to  find  any  one  who  cannot  say  thank  you  !  Kai 
Tz  (Mrs.  Wang  T'ang)  is  sewing  for  me,  and  Stephen's 
baseball  suit  is  fast  turning  into  little  Liya's  winter 
gown.     Mrs.  Sprague  has  given  an  old  dress  which  makes 


298  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

a  suit  for  Tsung  Mei  Tz,  and  some  of  your  dress-pieces 
Jiave  patched  poor  Lao  Ku  Er  up,  so  that  she  feels  very 
proud  !  I  am  not  a  bit  satisfied  to  let  these  children  be 
so  ragged  and  dirty.  It  makes  me  miserable.  Now  is 
the  time  for  cotton  to  be  picked  over  and  pulled  out  and 
patted  down, — much  of  it  is  black  with  age,  but  it  keeps 
on  being  useful.  Hsin  Wu  has  been  doing  some  for  our 
littlest  girls ;  I  have  also  had  her  wash  the  school  bedding 
which  is  to  do  duty  next  winter.  Arthur  Smith  said  if 
it  were  not  for  mud,  China  would  go  down.  If  it  were 
not  for  rags,  I  say  China  would  do  the  same.  Eags  are 
used  for  patching,  the  next  worse  for  shoe-soles  j  along 
rivers  the  felled  seams  of  clothes  which  have  lost  useful- 
ness are  cut  out  and  used  for  mops  on  the  boats.  The 
final  refuse  may  be  saved  for  the  beggars  (or  picked  up 
by  them),  to  sell  to  the  felt  mattress  man,  who  puts  such 
between  the  thicknesses  of  felt. 

**  We  have  fine  tomatoes  now,  and  I  take  them  over  to 
Mrs.  Wang,  Mrs.  Yen  and  Chin  Ch'un  Te's  wife.  It's 
nice  to  have  something  to  give  away. 

"Etta  came  home  last  night,  having  ridden  180  li  over 
the  very  worst  roads  of  the  whole  way.  She  had  many 
adventures  to  tell  us.'' 

"  October  6,  1896, 
"  I  am  down  in  the  schoolhouse  with  several  of  the  girls 
around  me  while  I  write.  I  do  not  stay  here  much,  but 
Mrs.  Sung  is  away,  and  I  have  the  henchmen  here  cutting 
grass,  so  I  have  come  down  to  look  after  the  proprieties  ! 
"Kao  Yueh  preached  a  good  sermon,  Sunday,  and 
gave  a  good  talk  to-day.  I  spoke  at  the  close,  telling 
them  of  some  poor  people  who  give  to  the  American 
Board,  and  while  they  could  not  go  to  the  Toledo  meet- 
ing, would  be  praying  much  for  the  Chinese  and  other 
heathen  nations,   to-day,   to-morrow  and  Friday.     This 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  299 

was  really  about  my  first  speech  in  prayer-meeting  this 
fall,  because  we  wish  to  keep  the  women  modest." 

*^  October  21st. 
"  I  have  a  hard  cold,  so  that  I^m  not  able  to  write,  but 
when  you  see  the  glory  flower  seeds  you'll  know  that  I've 
thought  of  you.     I  am  always  thinking  of  you  five, — per- 
haps I  think  about  you  too  much  of  the  time  ! 

"  A  bright  morning  !    Love  to  you,  to  each  dear  one. 
"  Your  always  loving  mother, 

''I,  R.  W." 

^^Kalgan,  Nov,  5>,  1896, 
**  Dear  Stephen  : 

"  I  think  about  you  a  great  deal  these  days.  We 
shall  be  so  greatly  interested  to  know  what  your  impres- 
sions of  the  East  are,  and  what  you  find  which  you  can 
take  hold  of, — learn  better  there  than  out  West.  There 
is  a  difference,  and  that  is  much ;  one  has  a  wider  out- 
look after  mingling  with  people  from  different  parts  of 
the  world,  or  even  of  a  country. 

^'  I  keep  yet  glad  for  our  time  together  in  Oberlin.  I 
did  not  do  some  things  which  I  ought  to  have  done,  and 
hoped  to  do.  Before  I  went  home,  the  thing  I  hoped 
most  was  that  I  might  help  some  of  you  on  in  the  spirit- 
ual life,  that  I  might  share  some  of  the  precious  and 
wonderful  things  in  the  Bible  which  God  had  shown  to 
me.  But  God  seemed  to  show  me  that  you  were  not 
ready,  and  also  that  He  would  gradually  teach  you  Him- 
self. I  felt  sure  you  were  then  gaining,  and  so  was  glad, 
because  it  is  better  to  learn  directly  from  God  than 
through  any  other.  Yet  it  has  been  such  joy  to  me  to 
learn  many  precious  truths  through  others,  that  I  always 
want  to  find  some  one  to  share  my  joys  with.  I  have  al- 
ways wanted  to  share  everything  nice  and  pleasant  with 
somebody  who  needed  it.     So  I  keep  on  praying,  *  Dear 


300  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Lord,  I  want  you  to  teach  my  children  all  which  you 
have  taught  me.^  For  many  years  it  was  my  daily 
prayer,  '  Open  Thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  won- 
drous things  out  of  Thy  law.'  Law  means  the  whole 
revelation  of  Himself  in  the  Bible  and  out  of  it.  These 
last,  the  things  of  Nature,  are  easier  to  see  ;  so  when  I 
pray,  I  mean  largely  the  Bible  teaching. 

^'  Nature's  showing  forth  of  God  is  wonderful,  from  the 
Pleiades  to  the  tiniest  flower  seed.  The  power  of  life  in 
the  seed  is  marvellous,— so  small  it  is,  but  it  has  life,  it  is 
a  living  thing  by  God's  power  in  it.  The  Pleiades,  a 
system  of  mighty  suns  set  in  thick  star  dust,  and  moving 
on  their  ordained  path,  also  by  God's  power  in  them, — 
so  wonderful !  But  I  have  often  wondered  more  joyfully 
over  some  little  sentence  of  counsel  or  comfort  coming 
with  such  wise,  gentle,  and  loving  touch,  that  I  feel  like 
saying,  *  How  could  you  know,  O  God,  how  much  that 
would  help  me  ! '  When  my  heart  has  been  bitter  and 
hard,  just  a  touch,  a  word,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  with  un- 
speakable kindness  has  taken  away  the  hardness  and  the 
bitter  thoughts. 

^'  There  are  hours  of  high  access  to  God  which  are 
worth  more  than  weeks  of  common,  dull  life.  Yet  it 
seems  as  if  the  common  life  had  to  be  the  most  of  what 
there  is.  We  do  not  strive  enough  for  the  better  part ; 
we  are  too  easily  satisfied.  The  common  part  of  life  is 
where  temptations  come  in  to  be  fought  with,  and  that 
shows  it  not  unimportant, — and  while  we  strive  to  do  all 
to  God's  glory,  the  common  things  need  not  be  dull." 

^^  November  10th, 
"  I  have  just  been  rereading  the  letters  of  August  and 
September.     You  dear  children, — that  is  all  I  can  say.     I 
will  ask  the  Lord  to  keep  me  worthy  of  my  children's 
love. 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  301 

"This  is  my  mother's  birthday,  and  March  22,  1869, 
was  her  heavenly  birthday.     Good-night,  with  love, 
"Your  mother, 
"Isabella  E.  Williams." 

^^Kalgauj  Nov,  10,  1896. 
"  My  Dear  Children  : 

"  Tve  been  reading  over  your  letters  of  August,  the 
last  we  have  had.  They  tell  of  the  family  dinner  for 
Cousin  Anna  Jones  before  she  started  back  to  Constanti- 
nople. And  of  Mary's  and  Spencer's  home-coming, — 
how  delightful  to  see  Mary  back  again.  I  shut  my  eyes 
and  see  her,  and  I  can  see  the  joy  in  your  Aunt  Mattie's 
face,  so  that  I'm  glad  too  (though  the  timfe  is  past,  and 
many  other  things  are  past  too).  But  it's  pleasant  to 
imagine  it  all.  If  I  didn't  read  the  letters  over  and  over, 
I'm  afraid  I  shouldn't  have  spirit  to  write.  I'll  go  back 
to  the  imaginings,  and  think  I  hear  George  Harding  play." 

"  November  11th, 
"I  haven't  written  since  your  father's  birthday.  I 
made  a  very  best  cake  that  day.  We  took  dinner  with 
Cora  and  Dr.  Waples  and  invited  them  for  tea,  but  they 
had  to  put  it  off  till  yesterday,  when  Dorothy  Delight 
and  her  high  chair  came  too. 

"  I  have  just  come  back  from  morning  prayers  and  rec- 
itations at  the  school.  The  girls  come  here  to  sew  in  the 
afternoons.  They  are  making  such  cunning  baby  clothes, 
and  the  older  girls  have  made  two  little  brown  gowns  for 
Liya,  stockings  and  a  Kanchier  for  the  blind  boy,  and  a 
pair  of  fao  Wus  from  Stephen's  old  gymnasium  suit. 
We  quite  look  down  on  patchwork  now,  but  will  have  to 
come  to  it  for  the  little  girls,  at  least.  I  have  plenty  of 
work  for  the  older  girls.  The  baby  clothes  we  shall  give 
to  Qur  Chinese  friends  as  need  comes. 


302  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  Last  school  year  we  had  so  many  poor  girls,  and  they 
were  very  ragged.  Most  of  them  were  nice  girls,  and  I^d 
be  glad  to  get  them  back,  rags  and  all.  I  find  work  for 
Hsin  Wu  three  or  four  days  in  the  week.  She  needs 
help  of  every  kind, — but  mostly  from  God.    •    •    ." 


"  November  18,  1896. 

"I  must  tell  you  how  much  we  like  the  samples  of  our 
new  dresses.  It  was  nice  of  you  to  send  them,  so  we 
could  be  anticipating,  and  think  how  they  will  look. 

^*  We  are  having  the  loveliest  of  weather,  but  know  the 
cold  must  some.  The  snapdragons  in  the  garden  still 
hold  up  their  heads,  but  everything  else  is  frosted. 

*'  Chin  Ch'un  Te  is  back  to-day  after  a  sixteen  days' 
absence  in  Mongolia  in  search  of  a  cow  for  the  doctor. 
We  have  been  alarmed  about  him,  and  had  thoughts  of  a 
lonely  ravine  and  a  torn  skin  coat,  but  the  Chinese  have 
said  ^  P'ai  pu  tza'  and  so  we  have  kept  our  visions  of 
coat  and  ravine  to  ourselves.  Yu  Fu  has  brought  his 
wife  and  baby  up  from  Ching  Ke  Ta.  She  is  going  to 
study  some,  but  with  two  little  children  she  will  not  have 
much  time.  The  blind  boy  has  been  a  good  deal  of  care 
in  the  school,  and  his  sisters  have  perhaps  done  their  best, 
which  was  not  good.  They  are  bright  girls,  but  they 
have  come  from  a  slatternly  home.  Now  their  home  is 
moved  into  our  yard,  we  shall  see  if  we  can  change  it 
somewhat.     I  like  the  girls  very  much.     .     .    ." 

"  December  i,  1896, 
"Etta  will  tell  you  of  our  new  schoolgirl  who  has  come 
so  cheerfully  to  have  her  feet  unbound.  Thereby,  how- 
ever, she  gets  a  husband  !  And  Etta  helps  with  the  be- 
trothal money.  (I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  do  not  yet  worry 
about  betrothing  Liya !) 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  303 

**We  dined  at  the  Eussian  postmaster's  to-day. 
Caviare,  sardines  and  bread,  cold  tongue  and  pork,  first 
course ; — soup  and  a  new  kind  of  fritter  the  second. 
Fried  chicken,  pickled  mushrooms,  crab-apples  and  pears, 
and  rye  bread  from  Kiachta,  the  next,  and  a  grand  finale 
of  sponge  cake  with  delicious  fruit  between  the  layers  and 
Eussian  candy. 

*^I  was  much  pleased  with  the  flower  seeds,  and  am 
going  to  plant  sweet  alyssum  in  a  pot,  now.  Such  lovely 
things  as  we  shall  have  next  year  !  My  English  violets 
are  beautiful  and  fill  our  rooms  with  fragrance. 

"  The  two  pictures  of  Oxford  girls  and  your  last  letters 
lie  beside  me  as  I  write.  I've  just  been  hunting  out  the 
girls  you've  written  about,  and  have  fallen  in  love  with 
quite  a  number  of  them  in  your  freshman  picture. 

"  With  love  to  all  my  dear  ones, 

"Your  mother, 

"Isabella  E.  Willl^ms." 

^'Kalgan,  Bee,  16 ^  1896, 
"Deae  STEPHEIf: 

"You  put  your  case  very  well.  For  college  work 
I  have  no  doubt  you  are  doing  the  right  thing,  if  you 
never  let  study  overtop  the  thought  of  work  for  God  and 
men.  Think  of  our  great  Western  America,  and  pray 
that  you  may  be  one  to  build  there  the  kingdom  of  God. 
I  believe  there  is  great  danger  in  such  special  education, 
unless  one  is  continually  watching.  If  you  keep  close  to 
God,  He  will  show  you  that  all  education  should  be 
striven  for  that  you  may  best  serve  His  children.  Else 
the  education  will  seem  greater  than  it  should,  and  the 
need  of  the  world  less. 

*  *  Just  now  we  need  that  you  pray  for  us,  Moses'  hands 
were  heavy  ;  when  he  let  them  fall,  Amalek  prevailed, 
but  when  Aaron  and  Hur  held  them  up,  Israel  prevailed. 


304:  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

This  tells  as  well  as  anything  why  we  need  your  prayers 
so  much, — and  it  is  but  for  a  few  years,  at  the  most. 

*'It  is  of  no  use  to  advise  unless  one  is  very  gifted  in 
that  line,  but  I  should  like  to  bribe  you  not  to  work  so 
hard  !  A  fever  will  come  by  and  by,  and  take  out  four 
to  six  months  of  life,  and  your  gain  from  working  so 
hard  will  be  gone  several  times  over.  I  think  you  feel 
because  you  will  have  to  borrow  a  part  of  the  money  for 
your  course  at  Harvard  that  you  must  work  exceedingly 
hard.  When  my  ship  comes  in,  you  shall  have  a  share ! 
(I  wish  I  had  a  ship  !)  My  little  share  of  a  canoe,  that  is 
to  say,  the  rent  of  the  house  in  the  Upper  City,  I  have 
given  for  a  year  to  the  Board,  or  I  could  send  you  that. 

"The  surgical  hospital  was  dedicated  to-day.  We 
have  had  money  to  buy  land  for  some  time,  but  nothing 
for  building,  and  we  knew  in  the  present  state  of  the 
Board^s  finances,  it  would  be  years  before  they  could  give 
us  an  appropriation.  The  Santee  friends  and  the  Indian 
children  sent  us  fifty  dollars  ;  we  had  some  help  from  the 
friends  in  Peking,  and  then  we  made  up  the  amount,  all 
giving  what  we  could,  and  the  house  is  built.  We  thank 
God.  This  house,  small  as  it  is,  we  rejoice  in  exceed- 
ingly ;  it  gives  Dr.  Waples  a  real  opportunity  in  work. 
He  is  growing  in  Christian  earnestness  ;  it  is  a  joy  indeed 
to  watch  him.  At  the  service  to-day  he  said  to  the  peo- 
ple, that  '  if  only  men's  bodies  were  cured,  the  house 
would  have  been  built  in  vain.  It  is  built  to  save  men's 
souls.'  " 

"  Kalgan,  Dec.  28 y  1896, 
"  My  Dear  Children  : 

"I'm  writing  on  some  of  the  nice  paper  which 
Etta  gave  me  for  Christmas.  She  gave  to  your  father 
and  me  a  book,  *  Friendship  the  Master  Passion '  by 
Henry  Clay  Trumbull.     T  look  forward  to  pleasure  in 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  305 

reading  it.  Christmas  morning  I  gave  cards  with  verses 
written  on  them  to  the  schoolgirls,  and  at  night  they  had 
other  gifts  from  the  tree.  For  we  have  really  had  a 
Christmas  tree  !  Cora  trained  the  girls  to  sing  ^  Merry, 
Merry  Christmas  ^  which  is  in  our  new  hymn-book,  and 
she  took  so  much  pains  with  them  that  they  did  very  well, 
and  we  were  all  much  pleased.  Your  father  and  I  had 
the  boys  practice  ^  In  a  Manger  laid  so  lowly '  for  Chi'ist- 
liias  evening.     ..." 

^^  January  6 J  1897, 
"  This  takes  my  most  loving  wishes  for  a  happy  year 
for  each  of  you.     I  shall  be  well  in  a  few  days.     Please 
write  a  letter  to  your  Uncle  Eob  and  tell  him  anything 
that^s  nice  to  write  from  any  of  my  letters. 

^'Good-night,  dear  children  all, — God  bless  you  each 
one.  Your  loving 

''Mother.'^ 

^^Kalgauj  Jan.  15,  1897. 
"Dear  Stephen  : 

' '  Two  weeks  ago  I  took  a  very  bad  cold,  and  after  a 
few  days  I  had  to  give  up  and  stay  in  the  house.  For  a 
good  many  days  I  have  been  coughing,  lying  in  bed  and 
suffering,  but  now  I  am  getting  a  little  better.  Dr. 
Waples  takes  very  good  care  of  me,  and  Cora  sees  that  I 
have  something  to  eat  three  times  a  day.  Some  one  has 
had  to  stand  over  me  to  make  me  eat !  But  I  am  improv- 
ing in  that  respect. 

*  *  A  new  little  girl  has  come  to  our  school.  Her  mother 
did  not  know  that  her  feet  must  be  unbound  if  she  were 
to  stay.     .    .     .'- 

This  letter,  her  last,  was  written  for  her  by  Mrs. 
Sprague.     She  had  said,  '*  In  a  few  days  I  shall  be  well." 


306  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

The  few  days  went  by,  and  she  was  "  well "  indeed.  Mrs. 
Sprague  wrote,  **  I  remember  her  saying,  *  Whatever  is 
done  is  of  God.^  It  was  hard  for  her  to  talk.  She  said 
once  to  your  father,  *  Gx)d  is  good.^  The  last  night,  the 
doctor  was  going  to  stay  with  her,  but  she  seemed  to  wish 
your  father  near  her.'^ 

To  the  brother  and  sisters  in  America,  Henrietta  wrote 
on  January  twenty -sixth  : — 

"  My  Dear,  Deak  Brother  and  Sisters  : 

*  ^  Dear  mamma  died  this  morning.  I  was  alone  with 
her.  .  .  .  Last  night  I  read  two  letters  of  hers  writ- 
ten after  grandfather's  death.  In  one  of  them  she  said, 
*  For  me  the  earth  seemed  glorified  by  the  passage  of  my 
saint  to  heaven.'  It  seemed  as  if  she  was  having  me  read 
them  for  her  own  good-bye.  It  was  hard  for  mamma  to 
talk  or  think  connectedly  these  weeks  of  her  sickness,  so 
she  couldn'  t  send  special  messages  to  you.  Once  she  said, 
^  Give  away  the  things  the  dear  twins  sent  me  in  the 
Christmas  box.'  On  January  twenty-third  she  said, 
^  Give  my  best  love  to  my  children.  I  tried  to  write  to 
them,  but  it  was  too  hard.' 

"  Don't  feel  badly  because  she  sent  no  special  messages 
to  each,  but  read  her  letters,— they  are  messages." 

^^Kalgan,  Feb.  3,  1897. 
"  My  Dear,  Dear  Ones  : 

^  ^  I  have  been  looking  over  a  little  desk  of  mamma's, 
and  found  several  things  which  made  me  think  she  meant 
the  writings  and  clippings  to  say  a  good-bye  message 
from  her  to  us,  if  she  couldn't  give  us  one  at  the  time  of 
her  sickness. 

"An  old  letter  from  her  mother,  several  from  Grand- 
father Riggs,  several  from  her  brothers  and  sisters,  written 
at  the  time  of  grandfather's  death  or  after,  and  some  that 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  307 

mamma  wrote  at  the  time  of  his  death.  There  is  a  little 
account-book  of  mine,  where  I  pencilled,  *  One  cash  for 
putting  Emmy  to  bed  ^ ;  some  locks  of  baby  hair  in  an 
envelope ;  a  little  note  of  Daisy's  saying,  'Mamma,  I  am 
trying  to  be  a  good  girl,  and  Anna  is  trying  too '  j  and 
a  short,  pencilled  note  of  papa's  written  when  he  was  on  a 
tour.  There  is  that  little  poem  of  Eugene  Field' s,  '  Some- 
time,' and  a  most  beautiful  one  by  Susan  C5oolidge, — 
'  Hereafter.'     The  first  lines  are  : — 

"  *  When  yon  are  dead,  when  yon  and  I  are  dead, 
Are  dead,  and  cast  aside  each  earthly  fetter, 
I  think  that  we  shall  know  each  other  better.' 

Then  two  lines : — 

"  *  Pnzzle  and  pain  will  be  behind  ns  then, 
'    AU  will  be  known,  and  all  will  be  forgiven.* 

There  is  a  note  speaking  of  the  death  of  Miss  Diament's 
mother  : — *  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for 
their  works  do  follow  them."  We  have  to  work  so  hard 
to  keep  up  our  vantage  ground,  to  follow  up  our  work, 
but  their  works  follow  them, — He  sees  to  that.' 

*'.  .  .  You  must  be  brave  and  loving,  because  our 
mother  was  so  brave  and  loving.  Some  of  the  letters  she 
wrote  about  grandfather's  death  will  make  you  under- 
stand better  how  she  bore  up,  and  how  she  would  like 
you  to  feel  about  her  going  away." 

In  a  volume  of  poems  by  Helen  Hunt  Jackson,  a  birth- 
day gift  to  her  daughter  Mary,  on  the  day  of  their  part- 
ing, these  lines  were  found  marked  :  — 

"  Dear  hearts,  whose  love  has  been  so  sweet  to  know, 
That  I  am  looking  backward  as  I  go, 
Am  lingering  while  I  haste,  and  in  this  rain 
Of  tears  of  joy,  am  mingling  tears  of  pain, — 


308  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Do  not  adorn  with  costly  shrub  or  tree 

Or  flower,  the  little  grave  which  shelters  me. 

Let  the  wild,  wind-sown  seeds  grow  up  unharmed. 

And  back  and  forth,  all  summer,  unalarmed, 

Let  all  the  tiny,  busy  creatures  creep  ; 

Let  the  sweet  grass  its  last  year's  tangles  keep  ; 

And  when,  remembering  me,  you  come,  some  day, 

And  stand  there,  speak  no  praise,  but  only  say, 

*  How  she  loved  us  !     'Twas  that  which  made  her  dear  ! ' 

These  are  the  words  that  I  shall  joy  to  hear." 

Of  the  maDy  letters  written  to  her  children  in  America 
after  her  home-going,  some  must  claim  a  place  here, 
although  it  be  like  taking  from  an  exquisite  wreath  a  few 
fragrant  flowers.     Her  friend,  Miss  Andrews,  wrote  : — 

"I  remember  well  the  dear  mother  as  I  saw  her  first 
in  the  spring  of  1869  when  we  gathered  in  Peking  for  the 
mission  meeting.  And  I  remember,  too,  the  dainty  little 
blossom  of  a  girl  clingiug  to  her,  your  sister  Etta,  then 
two  years  old.  Your  mother's  sweet  face  charmed  me, 
and  so  did  her  voice  in  the  singing  which  followed  the 
evening  prayer-meetiugs.  I  loved  her,  and  looked  for- 
ward to  a  time  when  I  should  come  to  know  her  better. 
It  was  in  1885  that  I  made  my  first  visit  to  Kalgan.  I 
remember  the  three  or  four  happy  days  spent  in  your 
city  home,  when  I  saw  your  mother  in  her  home  life,  in 
her  intercourse  with  her  children,  entering  into  all  your 
simple  pleasures  and  helping  to  make  a  happy  life  for 
you, — and  in  those  days  I  learned  to  love  her  more. 

**  But  it  was  in  the  last  year  of  your  mother's  life,  when 
I  was  again  spending  the  summer  at  Kalgan,  that  we 
drew  closest  together.  (You  were  all  in  the  homeland 
then,  except  Henrietta,  who  had  come  out  to  share  in  our 
work  here.)  We  were  together  beside  the  death-bed  of 
Kang  Wen  Yuan,  Martha  Gulick's  brother;  together, 
too,  when  Kao  Yueh's  little  baby  was  laid  to  rest ;  and 
those  are  scenes  that  draw  hearts  close.     Then  neither  of 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  309 

us  was  strong  enough  for  the  long  rambles  which  others 
took,  but  often  we  contented  ourselves  with  little  walks 
over  the  nearer  hills,  or  seated  in  some  quiet  graveyard, 
we  shared  our  home  letters,  and  talked  of  the  precious 
things.  For  she  was  one  with  whom  it  was  easy  to  talk 
of  sacred  things,— of  the  things  which  lie  nearest  our 
hearts.  And  so  the  love  between  us  grew  and  grew.  I 
think  there  was  nothing  in  your  mother's  character  which 
so  impressed  me,  as  the  steadfastness  of  her  love.  Those 
whom  she  took  into  her  heart  held  their  place  there  for- 
ever. 

*^I  remember  some  of  the  Chinese  whom  she  loved, 
who  proved  so  ungrateful  for  that  love,  and  so  unworthy 
of  it, — who  wandered  so  far  from  the  right.  But  her 
love  still  followed  and  clung  to  them,  and  would  not  give 
them  up.  She  was  Christlike  in  the  unchangeableness 
of  her  love.  And  the  love  shone  out  from  her  eyes,  and 
her  face  beamed  with  the  happy-heartedness  which  was 
one  of  her  great  charms  to  me." 

In  a  memorial  published  in  the  Chinese  Becorder, 
Dr.  Goodrich  wrote  : — ^*  Nothing  impressed  me  more  in 
Mrs.  Williams'  character  than  the  depth  and  persistency 
of  her  love,  and  nothing  so  much,  unless  it  be  the  genu- 
ineness of  her  character  and  the  sensitiveness  of  her  con- 
science. How  generous  she  was  in  her  nature  and  acts ! 
How  quick  and  responsive  were  her  sympathies  I 

"  *  As  ready  to  fly  Easfe  as  West, 
Whichever  way  besonght  them.  * 

And  what  a  wealth  of  love  she  poured  out  upon  her 
pupils,  a  love  which  has  followed  them  ever  since,  some- 
times in  their  squalor  and  rags  and  sin,  never  giving 
them  up." 

Of  one  Chinese  woman  who  had  been  in  the  home  at 


310  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Kalgan,  Mrs.  Whiting  wrote : — *^  Wu  Ma  will  never  for- 
get all  your  mother  has  done  for  her,  and  more  than  that, 
what  she  has  been  to  her.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that 
if,  after  laboring  long  in  China,  there  was  orie  woman  who 
could  speak  of  me  as  Wu  Ma  does  of  your  mother,  I 
would  think  I  had  done  a  good  work.'' 

In  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Ament  of  Peking  came  this 
tribute  : — "  One  could  not  be  long  in  the  company  of  your 
mother  without  realizing  that  she  drew  water  from  the 
unfailing  spring.  Her  happiness  seemed  so  little  de- 
pendent upon  material  things  that  one  feels  her  entrance 
into  the  unseen  world  could  involve  no  startling  change. 

*^  She  loved  beauty  of  form  and  color,  and  was  the  soul 
of  the  party  when  we  climbed  the  hills  together.  No  day 
was  so  busy  with  the  routine  of  little,  weaiying,  household 
cares,  but  that  she  found  time  to  read  something  beauti- 
ful, or  to  say  something  which  should  inspire  those  near 
her.  Tender  sympathy  with  the  young,  feeble,  and  un- 
fortunate, was  as  natural  to  her  as  breathing,  and  she 
gladly  gave  of  her  best  thought  and  strength  to  the 
Chinese  about  her." 

The  following  memorial  sketch  was  written  by  Dr. 
Henry  Porter  of  P'ang  Chuang  : — 

^'Isabella  Riggs  was  born  into  the  missionary  inherit- 
ance. The  beautiful  Indian  country  of  Minnesota  was  her 
childhood  home.  She  shared  in  the  early  simplicity  and 
hardship  as  well  as  terror  of  the  early  days.  These 
wrought  in  her  intensity  and  strength.  She  inherited  from 
her  father  much  of  that  mental  clearness,  strength  and  pre- 
cision which  made  his  work  the  foundation  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  Sioux  nation.  To  some  it  seemed  unwise  to 
devote  all  this  vigor  and  enthusiasm  of  thought  and  pur- 
pose to  a  work  of  beginnings  in  the  interior  of  China  where 
heathenism  was  so  deeply  intrenched  that  the  results  of 
patient  seed-sowing  must  needs  come  slowly.      But  if 


LOVE  NEVER  FAILETH  311 

there  was  ever  a  regret  or  a  feeling  that  life  had  not  held 
all  of  joyful  success  longed  for,  none  ever  knew  it. 

**To  some  of  us  now  on  the  mission  field  comes  the 
memory  of  that  day  in  February,  1866,  when  Isabella 
Eiggs  and  Mark  Williams  were  married  in  the  home 
church  at  Beloit.  A  merry  group  of  lads  and  lassies  from 
the  old  academy  and  the  schools  gathered  in  the  galleries 
of  the  church  to  witness  the  ceremony.  How  distant  and 
unapproachable  it  seemed  to  us  then, — the  China  of  a  gen- 
eration ago.  I  was  permitted  to  read  the  daily  journal  of 
the  long  voyage,  which  took  them  from  New  York  far 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Canton,  in  a  sailing 
vessel.  Four  long  months  of  weary  drifting  on  the  seem- 
ingly endless  tide  brought  them  at  last  to  the  shores  of 
China.  This  was  the  last  of  those  long  voyages.  The 
very  next  year,  the  Great  EepubliCj  the  first  of  the 
splendid  steamers  of  the  Pacific  Mail  line,  began  that 
career  which  has  opened  up  the  Pacific  trade  with  the 
Far  East,  and  brought  China  and  Japan  to  be  neighbors 
but  a  trifle  farther  away  than  England  and  France. 

"  On  the  border  between  China  and  Mongolia  stands  the 
city  of  Kalgan,  a  beautiful  warder  upon  the  Great  Wall, 
the  gateway  upward  towards  the  Grass  Lands.  Attracted 
alike  by  the  beauty  and  healthfulness  of  the  country,  as 
well  as  by  the  pitiful  need  of  the  commingling  peoples  of 
the  border  town,  Rev.  John  Gulick  had  begun  mission 
work  in  the  city  in  1865.  Full  of  determined  enthusiasm, 
Mr.  Gulick  and  his  wife  came  down  in  the  spring  of  1867 
to  secure,  if  possible,  a  fellow  worker  for  the  distant 
station.  A  meeting  of  the  mission  was  called  in  Tientsin, 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  were  just  beginning  their 
mission  life,  and  these  two  young  and  happy  workers 
were  swept  into  the  current  of  the  new  effort.  They  went 
at  once  to  the  outpost  on  the  Great  Wall. 

"  The  dialect  of  the  Kalgan  region  is  a  quaint  mixture. 


312  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Most  of  the  people  have  come  from  Shausi.  Their  speech 
is  harder  and  more  varied  than  the  mandarin  of  the 
plains.  To  one  accustomed  to  the  soft  sibilants  of  the 
Tientsin  speech,  or  to  the  clear,  rapid  speech  of  the  capi- 
tal, the  Kalgan  speech  seems  rough.  Mrs.  Williams 
used  it  with  rare  accuracy  and  force,  and  through  these 
thirty  years  she  wielded  it  with  the  ease  of  one  born  to 
its  use.  The  difficulty  of  speech  was  again  proved  to  be, 
as  so  often  in  these  missionary  experiences,  the  least  of 
the  difficulties  in  the  midst  of  which  so  many  labors  must 
be  wrought.  Of  that  other  difficulty,  the  touching  of  the 
lives  of  men  and  women  with  the  melting  and  moulding 
influence  of  sympathy  and  unabating  care,  the  record  is 
chiefly  written  in  the  hidden  struggles  of  the  hearts  of 
those  who  work  for  men. 

^ '  There  is  a  touch  of  the  sublime  when  a  life  works  itself 
to  its  end,  undisturbed  by  every  difficulty,  confident  that 
each  life  has  its  special  work  to  do  ;  filled  with  a  secret 
joy  that  the  allotted  work,  large  or  less,  is  enriched 
through  God's  blessing. 

**  The  world  grows  cold  to  us  when  the  strong  and  brave 
hearts  of  men  and  women  who  have  wrought  righteous- 
ness are  silent  before  us.  The  life  more  abundant  is  il- 
lumined once  again  when  the  gates  are  lifted,  and  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  that  which  is  beyond.  Isabella  Eiggs 
spent  these  thirty  years  at  Kalgan,  *the  gate'  of  the 
higher  country.  There  was  another  Gate,  more  rich  and 
beautiful  than  even  an  earthly  temple  might  possess. 
Beside  that  Gate,  into  the  higher  and  beautiful  land,  she 
was  always  sitting.  Through  that  Gate  she  has  passed 
'  into  the  City.' '' 


IX 

POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS 

Sketches  of  Chinese  Life 

"  In  all  their  poverty  and  filtb,  I  see  God's  children, — ^immortal 
souls."— J.  B,  W. 

''  T^  ^ADAM,  liave  you  heard  what  happened 
\ /■     last  night  at  the  first  house  by  the  Big 

X  tX   Trees r' 

"  1^0,  what  was  it?'^ 

'*  You  remember  they  married  a  new  bride  there  a  year 
ago  ;  a  good-looking  girl  she  was, — her  feet  werefeetj—a, 
nice  face  she  had,  some  pockmarked  to  be  sure,  but  you 
didn^t  notice  it  much  when  she  used  mien  fen.  Her  aunt 
said  this  morning  that  she  had  a  bit  of  a  temper ;  such  a 
pity,  too,  the  way  it  has  turned  out.  They  say  she  could 
sew  well,  and  was  tidy  about  the  house.  I  wish  I  could 
get  such  a  wife  for  my  son  !  Well,  her  mother-in-law  is 
a  fussy  woman  ;  she  has  to  be  first  anyway,  and  of  course 
in  her  own  home  she  ought  to  be.  She  took  a  dislike  to 
the  new  bride,  and  nothing  she  could  do  would  suit.  If 
she  made  shoe  soles,  it  was,  ^  Didn'  t  your  mother  teach  you 
to  do  a  better  job  than  that?^ — if  she  starched  the 
clothes,  it  was,  '  Who  can  wear  such  boards  ?  ^  or  *  So 
limp,  Tm  ashamed  to  let  him  go  on  the  street  with  it 
on  P  or  *  You  malleted  the  gown  to  rags,  I  do  declare  ! ' 

**  The  bride  ought  to  have  been  patient ;  she  didn^t  say 
anything,  but  just  looked.  She  ought  to  have  pitied  her 
mother-in-law, — she  has  a  bad  foot  :  it  was  hurt  some 
way,  and  she  can  hardly  hobble  around.     Bits  of  bone 

313 


3U  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

come  out  now  and  then,  and  she's  too  cross  to  live  with. 
The  bride's  mother  is  a  good-natured  sort  of  body,  with 
large-bound  feet, — (she  is  ashamed  enough  of  them,)— and 
they  have  a  happy,  jolly  time  at  their  house.  You  know 
where  they  live, — at  that  village  where  you  went  to  see 
the  fever  patient  last  week. 


*  *  Poor  child,  she  couldn'  t  stand  it.  *  Tell  her  husband, ' 
you  say  I  No  use  to  do  that.  He  would  beat  her  and  go 
off  and  tell  his  mother.  If  my  girl  gets  a  husband  like 
him,  I  shall  pray  God  to  have  her  die.  The  girl  bore  it 
as  long  as  she  could,  then  after  her  baby  was  born, — (it 
was  a  boy,  and  they  were  all  so  pleased,) — it  was  sick 
two  months  and  she  got  worn  out  taking  care  of  it  day 
and  night  and  towards  the  end,  working  when  it  slept. 
One  night  it  was  better,  but  very  weak,  and  she  overlaid 
it.  She  cried  herself  sick,  and  they  all  scolded  her.  If 
they  had  stopped  after  a  little, — (she  ought  to  be  scolded 
some,  so  careless)— but  there  are  people  who  can't  stop 
with  enough ! 

^^  Poor  child,  she  made  up  her  mind  to  end  it  all.  Her 
father-in-law  smoked  opium:  (did  you  guess  that,  the 
day  we  were  there  ?)  and  she  always  had  to  make  it  ready 
for  him.  She  saved  out  a  very  little  for  a  good  many 
days,  and  last  night  she  hurried  through  the  work,  and 
went  to  bed  early.  Her  husband  was  off  on  business. 
She  had  a  cup  of  hot  water  and  a  biscuit,  and  went  into 
their  little  room  openiug  off  his  mother's.  She  slipped 
the  bolt  softly,  and  they  did  not  know. 

^'This  morning  she  did  not  get  up  nor  answer,  and 
they  were  very  much  vexed.  They  tore  open  the  paper 
window,  but  she  didn't  stir,  so  they  took  out  the  windows 
and  found  her  dead.  Then  they  had  a  time  !  The  other 
families  of  their  court  came  flocking  in,  and  a  few  min- 
utes more,  and  all  the  street  knew  it.  They  sent  for  her 
husband,  and  for  her  father  and  mother.     The  officers 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  316 

from  the  Yamen  came  at  once  to  look  into  the  affair. 
Yes,  a  hard  time  they  are  having  !  Her  mother  wailing 
all  day,  and  saying  all  sorts  of  bad  things  about  them  ! 
It  will  cost  them  a  lot !  The  city  governor  will  make 
them  buy  the  finest  coffin  in  town,  and  her  brothers  will 
see  to  it  that  all  her  nice  bride-clothes  and  her  jewelry 
are  put  on,  and  then  there'll  be  a  grand  funeral.  Be- 
sides that  they  will  have  to  pay  out  a  lot  of  money  to  the 
Yamen  to  let  them  off  with  nothing  worse.  When  alPs 
done,  they  will  be  as  poor  as  rats  at  the  Beggar's  Inn  !  ^' 

The  day  set  for  the  funeral  comes.  Musicians  play 
dirges,  the  procession  goes  forth  under  a  sunny  sky  ;  beg- 
gars carry  the  bier,  and  banners  float  gaily. 

Sky,  weep  tears  !  Earth,  bemoan  the  dead  !  Alas, 
no  !    The  sun  still  shines  on  the  beautiful  burial  ground ! 

In  the  late  afternoon,  some  Chinese  women  come  to  sit 
a  while. 

"Madam,  are  you  well,  and  are  the  children  wellt 
Does  the  madam  know  about  the  funeral  to-day  ?  Such 
a  pity  for  the  young  life  gone !  And  the  family  really 
hadn't  paid  up  all  that  they  borrowed  at  the  time  of  the 
marriage.  They  will  have  to  sell  their  house  to  pay  their 
debts. 

"  I  knew  a  thing  like  this  long  ago  when  I  was  a  girl. 
The  bride  was  a  cousin, — not  near, — but  we  called  her 
'  Elder  Sister. '  She  was  a  farmer  s  daughter,  and  married 
into  a  farmer's  family.  Their  work,  however,  was  heavier 
than  she  had  been  used  to.  There  were  eighteen  or  nine- 
teen in  the  family  to  cook  for,  to  make  and  mend  for.  The 
daughters-in-law  had  their  hands  full  with  their  babies, 
— the  cooking,  sewing  and  field-work  too.  They  were  a 
little  close,  that  family,  and  didn't  hire  help,  but  farmers 
don' t  make  much,  that' s  a  fact.    This  bride  got  into  a  quar- 


316  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

rel  with  her  second  sister-in-law.  It  was  about  her  boy, 
— (spoiled  child,  he  was  to  blame  !)— the  second  son's  wife 
thought  her  children  were  perfect,  and  so  did  their  grand- 
mother. The  quarrel  kept  on,  and  the  husband  got  in  it, 
and  their  mother  scolded  right  and  left.  The  boy  jeered  at 
his  third  aunt,  when  she  was  being  scolded  the  worst,  and 
her  husband  gave  her  a  beating.  Of  course  he  was  most 
angry  at  the  others,  but  she  was  the  only  one  he  could 
beat.  She  had  been  a  good  girl  at  home  with  her  mother, 
and  hadn't  been  beaten  since  she  was  little  and  unbound 
her  feet  because  she  couldn't  sleep  nights.  (A  good  many 
little  girls  have  to  be  beaten  for  that.)  She  wasn't  used 
to  many  children  either.  She  was  her  mother's  ^  child  of 
old  age.'  (That  was  the  pet  name  for  her.)  So  now  she 
asked  to  go  home.  She  ought  not  to  have  asked  ;  it  was 
neither  the  Middle  of  the  First  Month,  nor  any  other  fes- 
tival. They  wouldn't  let  her  go,  and  the  boy  jeered  more. 
She  was  very  quiet  and  nobody  suspected  anything,  but 
when  they  all  came  in  from  the  field  she  wasn't  there. 
They  looked  in  the  stable  to  see  if  she  had  hung  herself, 
and  then  they  looked  in  the  well  and  found  her.  Such  a 
trouble  !  They  got  her  out  when  my  uncle  and  cousins 
went  down  with  the  magistrate.  Oh,  they  made  it  hard 
for  them  !  Such  a  burial  the  countryside  never  saw, 
and  the  girl  only  nineteen,  just  the  age  of  that  poor  young 
wife  down  the  street  here.  Her  brothers  made  her  hus- 
band buy  piece  after  piece  of  cotton  cloth,  and  piece  after 
piece  of  silk,  and  fill  up  the  coffin.  Then  they  poured 
oil  and  thin  melted  glue  all  over  the  silks  and  beautiful 
clothes.  Anybody  opening  that  coffin  wouldn't  find  a 
thread  worth  stealing.  The  family  sold  their  best  land, 
and  have  been  poor  ever  since. 

"  Well,  after  all,  girls  shouldn't  have  tempers ;  it  isn't 
worth  while  to  make  so  much  trouble  for  every  one.  We 
all  have  to  endure." 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  317 

"Yes,  sister,  but  you  know  that  the  women  who  are 
good  to  their  brides  are  the  sensible  ones;  they  have 
grandchildren  to  keep  up  the  family,  and  it  is  better  to 
be  kind." 

"Madam,  how  is  it  with  the  Christians?  Is  it  true 
that  you  are  all  kind  to  your  brides!  " 

The  Stoey  of  the  Socks 

"Tell  them  about  the  stockings,"  said  a  friend.  For 
my  own  part  I  was  quite  willing  to  let  it  remain  untold, 
but  she  insisted,  so  here  it  is. 

It  was  arranged  that  eight  from  the  winter  class  were 
to  recite  to  me  after  morning  prayers.  We  have  no  class- 
rooms, but  my  sitting-room,  or  parlor,  was  quite  at  their 
service.  "How  about  their  shoes,  full  of  hobnails,  and 
in  wet  weather,  so  dirty,  with  snow  and  gravel  clinging 
to  the  cloth  soles?"  "They  can  slip  them  off  outside 
the  door,  and  come  in  stocking-feet."  "  But  their  stock- 
ings are  so  dirty  !"  "Then  it  is  time  they  are  made 
cleaner." 

The  boys  and  men  recited  to  me  for  a  week  or  more 
before  I  thought  best  to  say  anything,  and  then  I  said, 
"I  want  you  to  have  clean  stockings.  How  many  have 
two  pairs?"  "Three  of  us  have."  " Their  folks  are 
well  off,"  one  of  the  other  boys  confided  to  me  afterwards. 

Said  I,  "  Here  are  two  or  three  pairs  of  large  socks,  and 
some  smaller  ones,  enough  to  go  around  for  you,  and 
you,  and  you.  Wash  yours  at  noon  recess,  and  bring 
them  to  Mrs.  Chang  when  dry."  "  Such  black  things," 
she  laughed,  and  carried  them  off  for  another  rubbing. 
Finally  she  patiently  patched  and  mended  them,  inside 
and  out.  After  that,  some  one  washed,  as  well  as  mended 
for  the  small  boys  ;  the  older  ones  and  the  men  washing 
their  garments  and  sometimes  mending  them.  The  boys 
held  up  their  heads  straighter  when  they  came  in  with 


318  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

even  one  clean  article  on.  The  stockings  and  socks  lent 
to  them  (which  had  been  donated  by  nearly  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Kalgan  station)  were  washed  and  ready  for 
use  again.  One  young  fellow  said  his  weren't  worth 
washing,  but  being  encouraged  to  try,  he  got  a  pailful  of 
suds  from  my  washerman,  and  gaily  rubbed  away  until 
soles  and  uppers  had  parted  compauy.  He  brought  them 
to  Mrs.  Chang  and  Mrs.  Hsi  with  perfect  faith  in  their 
ability  to  renew  them.  We  had  no  choice  ;  the  only  way 
to  mend  was  to  buy  a  new  pair.  After  I  gave  them  to 
him,  he  was  the  happiest  fellow  alive,  sitting  day  after 
day  through  the  recitation  hour,  gazing  with  satisfaction 
at  his  trim  feet;  no  country  boy  in  his  first  town  suit 
could  be  more  full  of  joy.  One  after  another  of  his  gar- 
ments which  could  be  cleansed,  were  washed,  and  his 
face  he  scrubbed  till  it  shone.  Ears  and  neck  were  not 
so  shining,  but  at  last,  one  day,  he  actually  came  to  them 
in  his  attempts  for  cleanliness. 

My  class  had  additions  till  they  numbered  fifteen.  It 
was  plainly  the  favored  class  !  its  members  were  getting 
a  bit  of  mothering.  So  the  rest  asked  if  their  things 
couldn't  be  mended  too  ;  the  eight  or  nine  pairs  of  Amer- 
ican socks  and  stockings  were  kept  going,  and  had  to  be 
patched  till  one  could  hardly  tell  the  original  fabric. 
Week  after  week  the  patient  women  worked,  glad  to  get 
employment.  The  repair  of  clothing  for  some  fifty  per- 
sons came  into  the  hands  of  a  number  of  them,  as  well  as 
the  washing  for  the  younger  boys.  Such  pitiful  clothes 
as  we  saw  sometimes  ! 

"  Madam,  I  want  to  go  home  to  my  mother,"  said  one 
lad.  "  My  trousers  are  so  ragged  I  can't  wear  them  any 
longer.  The  cotton  wadding  has  all  fallen  down  into  my 
legs,  and  is  very  bunchy, — ^not  comfortable  at  all." 

"  Perhaps  we  can  mend  them  here."  So  the  lad  went 
to  bed,  and  sent  his  trousers  in  to  me.    There  is  always 


A   GROUP    OF   BUDDHIST   PRIESTS 


i                                 ^ 

1 
s 

A   CHINESE   K'ANG 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  319 

opportunity  to  learn  something  in  China.  I  was  learning 
about  dirt.  The  garment,  ragged  and  filthy  to  the  ex- 
treme ; — ^how  could  I  ask  my  woman  to  touch  it  1  With 
sharp  scissors  I  cut  off  the  vilest  rags,  burning  them,  and 
basted  large  pieces  over  the  holes ;  then  my  woman  came 
in,  and  'twas  easy  to  enlist  her  kind  heart  on  the  boy's 
behalf.  The  labor  of  love  accomplished  by  those  women 
was  not  small.  Often  have  I  said,  **  Remember  them,  O 
my  God,  for  this." 

Single  or  double  garments — ^the  rule  was  rigorous — 
must  be  washed  before  mending,  but  wadded  clothes  for 
the  little  fellows  often  had  to  be  mended  as  they  were. 
The  men  mended  their  own,  so  it  was  for  the  thirty  or 
forty  younger  ones  that  the  women  did  most  work.  The 
boys  were  expected  to  bow,  and  thank  the  women  who 
worked  for  them.  The  waist-coats  worn  next  to  the 
body  we  insisted  on  having  scalded,  and  sometimes  it 
was  necessary  that  I  should  see  it  done. 

'^  How  can  you  bear  to  do  such  things  ?  "  "  It  is  easy 
when  one  says  over  and  over,  ^  Inasmuch— one  of  the 
least  of  these— ye  have  done  it  unto  Me.'  '^ 

A  Dream 

I  will  dream  that  one  of  these  dear  girls  is  carried  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  to  China.  Presto,  change  !  and 
she  is  a  Chinese  girl. 

This  court  fifteen  feet  square,  surrounded  by  mud 
houses  is  her  home,  and  that  of  five  other  families.  She 
cannot  go  to  church  or  Christian  Endeavor  meetings  ;  she 
cannot  go  to  school,  or  have  any  kind  of  an  outing  more 
than  a  dozen  times  a  year.  When  she  was  younger,  she 
could  go  on  the  street  for  small  items  of  marketing,  but 
now  her  mother  is  watchful  of  her, — it  is  time  to  plan  for 
her  marriage, — she  is  twelve  years  old,  and  tall  for  her 


320  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Let  us  see  how  her  day  goes.  There  is  a  round  of 
washing  bowls  and  pots,  sweeping  the  one  or  two  family 
rooms,  and  squatting  on  a  bit  of  old  mat  outside  the  door, 
to  wash,  with  a  brick  for  wash-board,  and  soda  instead  of 
soap.  She  rubs  away  patiently  at  white  stockings  that 
are  nearly  black,  and  the  boys'  ragged  trousers  besides 
her  own,  for  girls  as  well  as  boys  are  out  at  seat  and 
knee.  The  mat  on  the  kang  wears  out  clothes  unmerci- 
fully, and  there  is  an  unceasing  round  of  washing  and 
patching. 

"Well,  girl,''  her  mother  says,  **work  away,  for  to- 
morrow is  the  ninth  of  the  Ninth  Month,  and  if  you  are 
diligent  to-day,  you  may  go  with  your  aunt  and  me  to 
the  missionary's  home.  Oh,  of  course  we  go  to  the  temple 
first. 

"  Bind  your  feet  a  little  more  tightly,  child !  Who  do 
you  think  will  marry  you  with  such  feet?  You  know 
I've  always  told  you  that  a  woman  should  have  head  and 
feet  nice.  Eub  a  little  easier,  and  be  saving  of  the  soda. 
I  spent  three  cents  for  it,  and  it  will  be  long  enough  be- 
fore I  can  get  more.  I  shall  save  up  quite  a  while  to  get 
thirty  cents,  so  I  can  buy  cloth  for  the  baby  a  suit.  It's 
getting  cool,  and  the  missionary  lady  says  it's  because  he 
goes  bare,  that  he's  sick  all  the  time." 

"Mother,  can't  you  buy  cloth  for  me  some  shoes f 
Mine  have  had  these  bits  of  cloth  glued  on  the  toes  for  a 
long  time,  and  they're  not  very  nice." 

"  Dear,  dear,  how  you  children  do  wear  out  your 
things  !  Well,  if  you  help  with  the  fur-sewing,  and  we 
earn  ten  cents  a  day  regularly,  you  can  buy  the  cloth 
next  month." 

"  I  need  ankle-cloths  too." 

"Kow  child!  what  a  girl  you  are!  Have  you  gone 
and  washed  yours  all  to  pieces  ?  If  I  was  as  strong  as  I 
used  to  be,  I'd  do  the  washing  all  myself !     Go  to  the 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  321 

gate  and  if  your  brother  is  there,  tell  him  to  come 
quickly  and  bring  argols  to  cook  supper  with.  It's  well 
for  us  that  the  grocer  trusted  me  for  the  millet.  We 
shall  not  go  hungry  to-night  as  we  did  last  night." 

The  father  comes  in  with  two  cents'  worth  of  carrots  for 
supper.  He  says,  "  The  new  foreign  doctor  is  a  man  of 
great  skill,  I  hear.  Quite  a  wonderful  case  they  are  tell- 
ing of  all  over  town.  But  I  liked  the  other  doctor  j  she 
was  very  kind  to  us.  I've  always  thought  that  when  I 
had  time  I  would  go  and  learn  about  Jesus." 

Christ  or  Buddha  ? 

Siddhartha — who  is  he,  when  compared  to  Jesus, 
thorn-crowned,  mocked,  forsaken,  *' bearing  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  on  the  tree  "  ? 

A  reviewer  says,  ^'Buddhism  may  possibly  prove  a 
rival  to  Christianity."  Strange  to  write  thus  now,  when 
Christ  is  going  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.  It  is 
late  in  the  day. 

Let  that  writer  go  to  teach  Buddhism  to  Buddhists,  for 
truly  there  is  need.  Let  him  go  to  China,  and  when  he 
has  reached  the  heart  of  the  people,  and  at  the  core  of 
the  deepest  ignorance  and  the  grossest  darkness  he  finds 
the  idea  of  merit,  will  he  not  retract  that  sneering  word  f 

^'  Lo,  I  am  holy  !  For  ten  years  I  have  killed  neither 
louse  nor  flee.  See  them  swarm  upon  my  garments. 
Nor  have  I  eaten  flesh.  Omito  Foa  !  remember  thou  me 
for  good.'^     Thus  speaks  the  Buddhist  saint ! 

How  interesting  is  the  newly  revived  sect  of  Buddhists 
in  Japan,  who  disclaim  all  self-saving,  and  hold  that 
faith  in  Amita  Buddha's  boundless  merit  brings  salva- 
tion !  This  shall  prove  a  stepping-stone  to  faith  in 
Jesus.  Instead  of  Amita  Buddha,  shall  be  worshipped 
**  the  Living  God,  the  King  of  eternity." 

**The  gods  that  have  not  made  the  heavens  and  the 


322  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

earth,  even  they  shall  perish  from  the  earth,  and  from 
under  these  heavens." 

Are  you  praying  for  Japan  ?  for  China  ?  The  work  in 
Japan  is  wonderful ;  it  is  like  the  flower  bursting  into 
bloom.  China  is  the  tree  of  the  ages  ;  Japan,  as  it  were, 
its  blossom. 

A  Pagan  Suckled  in  a  Creed  Outworn 

It  is  noon  in  North  China.  Through  the  oasis  near 
Hsuan-Hua  Fu,  tea-laden  camels  pass  in  trains,  the 
sound  of  their  slow  bells  filling  the  air  among  the  willow 
trees.  Now  they  go  up  towards  *^  the  City,"  so  called  by 
the  people  of  the  place.  It  was  a  capital  town  in  the 
days  when  ^*  there  was  a  king  for  every  thirty  miles." 
A  Peking  man,  who  knows  there  is  but  one  city  under 
heaven,  smiles  with  curling  lip,  ^*  The  city,  indeed!" 
and  his  swift  donkey  trots  past  the  camels,  overtaking  a 
litter  whose  driver  has  slept  on  his  animal  for  a  couple  of 
hours.  They  go  over  a  massive  bridge,  which  has,  how- 
ever, more  than  once  during  the  century,  been  partially 
swept  away  by  the  terrible  torrents  from  the  mountains. 
Huge  stone  slabs  lie  here  and  there,  where  the  floods  left 
them. 

Up  go  the  string  of  camels,  the  litter  still  ahead,  and 
now  it  is  passing  the  temple  outside  the  city, — a  temple 
dedicated  to  the  river  god  ;  yet  more  than  one  deity  has 
its  shrine  here. 

A  priest  strikes  his  gong  asking  much-needed  gifts. 
One  of  the  temple  roofs  has  fallen  in  since  the  heavy  rains 
began,  and  the  silent  idols  are  exposed  to  rain  and  wind. 
Not  quite  so  ;  if  you  look  in,  you  can  see  mats  stretched 
over  their  heads.  The  priest  strikes  more  rapidly;  a 
Chinaman  in  the  litter  throws  three  or  four  cash  into  the 
basket  held  out  by  a  little  boy.  The  driver  gives  noth- 
ing.   He  is  a  Mohammedan.     Our  friend  from  Peking 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  323 

and  the  camel  drivers  give, — one  taking  a  easli  from  his 
ear,  but  the  last  man  gazes  on  the  landscape  in  an  oppo- 
site direction.  The  gods  are  richer  by  three-fourths  of  a 
cent !  All  day  it  goes  on ;  the  trains  passing  north  or 
south  ;  the  call  of  the  gong  is  sounded  and  the  contribu- 
tion basket  passed ;  at  night  the  gods  and  their  servitors 
are  in  funds  to  the  amount  of  sixteen  cents. 

The  priest  is  one  of  the  few  who  are  in  thorough  ear- 
nest about  religion.  He  revolves  a  plan  in  his  mind. 
"If  I  were  to  go  away,  the  old  priest  and  the  little  one 
could  care  for  the  temple.  I  will  go  on  a  pilgrimage 
asking  money,  for  shall  the  house  of  our  god  lie  in 
ruins  ?^' 

To  the  lad  he  says,  "  When  time  for  travellers  to  pass, 
in  storm  or  shine,  keep  striking  the  gong.  The  people 
will  give  enough  for  you  to  live  on." 

He  starts  out  next  day,  and  up  and  down  over  moun- 
tains, across  the  stony  wastes  he  goes,  until  every  man, 
woman  and  child  has  heard  his  bell.  See  his  gaunt, 
filthy  figure  slowly  passing  through  city  streets,  over  and 
over  chanting  the  same  request.  Month  after  month, 
year  after  year,  he  journeys  on.  Sometimes,  but  how 
rarely,  he  receives  a  large  gift. 

Going  from  place  to  place,  he  prays,  "Buddha,  re- 
member me  for  this.  Eiver  god,  protect  us  at  Hsuan 
Hua  for  this !  Gods,  ye  know  I  go  through  cold  and 
heat,  through  wind  which  blows  sand  like  knife-points 
on  my  face,  or  rain  alone  which  washes  my  clothes  and 
body,  or  snow,  how  bitter  to  me  so  thinly  clad  !  I  climb 
these  rocky  passes,  and  wade  the  streams,  going  to  every 
hamlet,  that  all  may  share  in  giving." 

Year  after  year,  year  after  year,  strange  that  he  does 
not  tire !  The  money  grows  slowly  ;  twenty  cash  here 
and  fifty  there, — one  thousand,  two  thousand,  a  tael  of 
silver  at  another  place.     Five  years,  ten,  fifteen,  have 


324  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

passed.  These  last  years  have  seen  the  priest  with  a 
spike  thrust  through  his  upper  lip,  and  now  the  money 
conies  faster.  ^^Oh,  Buddha,  remember  me  for  this  !  I 
do  it  for  the  temple's  sake.  How  else  may  I  know  that 
I  shall  see  it  rebuilt  ?  See  how  they  give  us  more,  and 
prosper  them  ! " 

At  last,  bent  and  old  from  hardship  and  scanty  food, 
he  takes  back  to  Hsuan  Hua  the  final  installment  of  the 
fund  necessary  for  repair  and  rebuilding.  Masons  and 
carpenters  are  soon  at  work,  and  in  time  the  temple  i^ 
finished.  At  last  the  gods  are  spick  and  span  as  fresh 
mud  and  stones  and  plenty  of  paint  can  make  them.  It 
is  a  joyful  day  for  this  man  who  has  accomplished  his 
purpose,  and  he  tells  his  rosary,  ^^Omito  Foa,  Omito 
Foa,  Omito  Foa." 

There  comes  a  man  who  says,  "  Once  I,  too,  was  a  priest, 
but  now  I  do  not  worship  Foa.  I  worship  the  true  God, 
the  Heaven-Lord,  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  who  died  for 
us.  Why  should  we  bow  down  to  these  gods  of  mud  and 
stones  and  paint?  Last  week  the  god -maker  was  here. 
How  many  strings  of  cash  did  he  earn  by  forming  these 
images  ?  How  many  gods  did  he  make  ?  Who  is  greater, 
the  man  or  the  image  made  by  him  ?  By  the  word  of  His 
power  the  True  God  made  the  world,  and  His  Son  came 
to  save  us  from  our  sins.     Who  of  us  is  not  a  sinner  ?  " 

The  toil-worn  priest  answered,  "Foa  will  forgive  me 
because  of  the  merit  I  have  laid  up." 

"  Agreed,"  says  the  other.  "  We  have  one  man  saved 
by  merit,  then.  But  what  of  your  brethren,  are  they 
saved  too?" 

"Not  without  ages  of  purification.  They  have  done 
nothing.  I  only  have  labored  these  many  years,"  he 
answered. 

"  What  about  the  priests  at  Nan  Kou?  " 

**  Alas  for  them,  they  are  vile.     I  dared  not  stop  with 


POOR  DUMB  MOUTHS  325 

them  in  my  journeying ;  my  silver  was  not  safe  there. 
Lord  Buddha  delights  not  in  such  as  they.  Only  the 
pure  attain  Nirvana." 

"And  those  at  Yu  Cho?  Brother,  you  have  been  all 
over  the  land ;  what  are  they  ?  " 

"They  care  not  for  the  worship.  I,  only  I,  remember 
the  hours  of  prayer." 

The  Christian  man  said,  "  Woe  to  the  common  people, 
if  such  are  the  priests  !  Our  Master  has  said,  ^  I  came 
not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.' 
Perhaps  those  vile  ones  He  could  even  now  call  unto 
Himself!" 

"  They  will  not  obey  ;  they  care  only  to  eat  and  drink, 
and  follow  their  wicked  lusts.  Oh,  I  hate  them !  Go 
thou  to  them  !     They  need  repentance." 

Teacher  Chou  turns  away.  The  aged  priest  says  within 
himself :  *  *  Why  did  I  feel  like  listening  to  him  ?  Pleas- 
ant words  he  spoke.  *  Peace  and  rest ! '  How  little  I 
have  had  of  either.  I  feel  drawn  to  follow  and  find  him. 
But  could  I  ever  leave  this  temple  ?  It  was  my  home 
even  during  those  years  of  wandering.  He  said  the  Mas- 
ter required  that  we  be  ready  to  leave  all.  Oh,  it  is  too 
late !  I  am  too  old !  All  my  life  I  have  worshipped  Foa  ! 
this  message  is  for  younger  ones ;  it  is  not  for  me.  I 
cannot  follow  now." 

But  he  finds  the  Christian  on  the  morrow.  "  How  was 
it  that  you,  a  priest,  left  the  worship  of  Foa  I "  The  con- 
versation which  follows  is  deeply  earnest.  Teacher  Chou 
tells  him  of  Jesus,  a  Saviour.  Finally  he  speaks  of  those 
who  once  were  devout  Buddhists,  but  now  have  accepted 
the  true  Light,  the  Light  of  the  world.  "It  is  almost 
thirty  years  since  a  man  named  Ts'ai  Ching  and  his 
father  heard  the  good  news  and  believed  it,  giving  up 
their  dreams  of  accumulated  merit.  All  who  knew  them 
called  them  true  men.    There  is  one  sumamed  Djou,  a 


326  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

younger  man  j  he,  too,  was  a  faithful  worshipper  of  Poa, 
and  is  one  of  a  thousand.  He  has  turned  to  the  Saving 
Lord  with  all  his  heart.'' 

*  *  I  have  seen  him, ' '  said  the  priest.  * '  We  once  stopped 
at  the  same  inn.  He  had  with  him  an  image  of  Foa,  the 
compassionate  one,  to  whom  he  prayed  at  night  when 
the  travellers  and  innkeeper  were  asleep.  Yes,  he  is  a 
good  man.  And  has  he  gone  over  to  this  new  religion  ? 
Is  it  not  strange?" 

'•''  I  will  tell  you  of  others,"  said  the  teacher. 

''Not  to-day,"  answered  the  priest.  '^ It  is  a  wonder- 
ful story  you  have  told  me  of  one  Jesus.  Let  us  not  speak 
more  of  common  men.  I  will  think  of  these  things.  Yet 
surely  it  is  too  late  to  change." 

*  ^  It  is  never  too  late, ' '  said  the  Christian.  ^  *  There  was 
a  dying  robber  who  turned  to  Jesus  at  the  last,  and  not  in 
vain,  for  He  saves  unto  the  uttermost." 


HENRIETTA   B.  WILLIAMS 


328  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

spoke  no  English  at  all,  until  the  mission  meeting  when 
she  was  taken  to  Peking  at  five  or  six  years  of  age. 
Martha  Gulick,  the  Chinese  child  adopted  by  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  T.  Gulick,  was  there  too,  and  spoke  nothing  but 
Euglish.  The  sight  of  an  American  child  speaking  only 
Chinese,  and  a  Chinese  child  speaking  only  English  ex- 
cited wonder  and  comment,  and  after  that  Etta  learned 
English.  Miss  Diament  taught  her  her  letters,  and  the 
little  girl  began  reading  almost  on  her  own  initiative. 

At  eight  years  old,  her  education  was  taken  in  hand  by 
her  father,  who  set  simple  tasks,  and  saw  to  their  per- 
formance in  spare  moments  of  his  busy  days.  But  when 
Etta  had  learned  to  read  there  was  no  trouble  to  find  oc- 
cupation. The  key  to  a  treasure  house  had  been  given  her. 
Among  the  books  in  the  little  Chinese  home  were  the 
old  favorites  and  standards  for  all  time  in  poetry,  fiction, 
history  and  travel.  Etta  roamed  among  them  at  will, 
finding  opportunity  for  that  browsing  among  books  which 
Charles  Lamb  considers  the  best  education  a  child  can 
have. 

From  now  on,  Etta  is  mentioned  by  all  as  absent-minded, 
buried  in  books,  reading  omnivorously  even  the  pai^ers 
lining  pantry  shelves.  James  Gilmour  of  Mongolia 
writes  in  one  of  his  last  letters  of  his  wish  to  revisit  Kal- 
gan  and  the  grass-lands,  and  see  again  *' the  young  Stephen 
and  the  studious  Etta."  And  Chinese  friends  say  Etta 
was  always  reading  and  forgot  how  to  talk  Chinese  before 
they  took  her  to  America. 

In  1879  the  family,  now  numbering  six  children,  went 
home  to  the  United  States,  and  after  the  parents'  two 
years'  furlough,  Etta  and  Stephen  were  left  behind  in  care 
of  grandmother  and  uncle,  and  began  study  in  the  public 
schools.  New  surroundings  brought  the  need  of  devel- 
oping the  practical  and  social  qualities  which  Etta  in  par- 
ticular lacked  at  the  time. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS      329 

In  1883,  Etta  was  sent  to  the  Western  Seminary  (now 
College)  at  Oxford,  O.,  where  her  mother  had  studied. 
She  finished  the  course  there  in  three  years,  went  to  Ober- 
lin  for  further  study,  and  graduated  there  in  1889.  Three 
years  of  teaching  in  the  Santee  Normal  School  at  Santee 
Nebraska  proved  invaluable  experience.  The  Indian 
scholars  were  very  interesting  to  Etta,  and  they  loved  her 
in  return.  She  put  enthusiasm  into  making  her  school 
work  attractive,  and  found  time  also  to  join  in  the  chil- 
dren's play  hours.  Other  teachers  tell  how  she  helped 
the  little  girls  of  the  "Birds'  Nest"  to  dramatize  Red 
Riding  Hood,  Cinderella,  and  other  dear  old  favorites, 
arranging  costumes  and  playing  stage  manager  with  real 
enjoyment.  This  was  only  play,  but  accorded  well  with 
the  modern  educational  theory  of  the  value  of  acting  out 
stories  with  children. 

In  1893,  Miss  Diament,  who  had  been  in  charge  of  the 
Girls'  School  in  Kalgan,  died.  Etta  was  appointed  by  the 
W.  B.  M.  I.  to  take  the  vacant  place.  In  preparation,  she 
spent  several  months  at  the  Moody  Bible  Institute,  Chicago, 
in  the  fall  of  '  92.  The  rest  of  the  winter  was  spent  with 
the  family  in  Oberlin.  Father  and  mother  were  home, 
and  the  family  complete  for  a  little  time. 

Here  is  a  bit  from  Etta's  diary. 

^' July  SO,  1893,     - 
"My  last  Sunday  in  Oberlin  for  a  long,  long  time  per- 
haps. 

"How  peaceful  I  have  been  here  Sunday  mornings, 
making  things  ready  for  Sunday  dinner.  Sunday  morn- 
ing before  church  is  so  delightful,  usually  such  a  calm, 
and  the  past  comes  before  me  as  it  did  to  the  soldier  in 
Sydney  Dobell's  *  Home  Wounded.'  The  sun  to-day  was 
so  pleasantly  warm,  and  the  grass  grew  green.  I  felt  at 
home,  and  almost  as  if  I  didn't  want  to  leave.    The  round 


330  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

of  household  duties  in  the  morning  has  been  so  pleasant 
to  me,  and  I  have  felt  so  well  and  light-hearted. 

"  Will  it  come  to  me  that  way  in  China  again,  I  won- 
der I    I  have  been  so  happy  in  Oberlin." 

In  August,  1893,  Etta  with  her  father  sailed  for  China. 
They  were  with  a  party  chiefly  made  up  of  new  mission- 
aries, among  them  two  childhood  friends  of  Etta's, — Ab- 
bie  Chapin  and  Gertrude  Stanley  (now  Mrs.  George 
Wilder)  returning  like  her  to  the  land  of  their  birth. 
And  among  those  going  out  for  the  first  time  were  Miss 
Annie  Gould  and  Miss  Mary  Louise  Partridge,  going  to 
Paotingfu  and  to  T'aiku,  Shansi.  It  would  have  been 
hard  to  imagine  at  that  time  that  these  two  were  to  have 
but  seven  short  years  of  work  before  being  sent  Home  by 
the  swords  of  Boxers  in  1900. 

There  are  few  letters  from  Etta  that  first  fall  in  China. 
The  few  we  have  speak  of  her  pleasure  in  seeing  the  old 
familiar  places  again,  and  in  finding  Chinese  friends  who 
remembered  her  as  a  child.  She  began  studying  imme- 
diately, and  found  that  the  language,  though  once  forgot- 
ten, was  easier  of  attainment  a  second  time. 

A  letter,  written  in  November,  gives  us  an  amusing 
glimpse  of  her  first  experiences  with  a  Chinese  teacher. 

^^  November  6,  1898. 
"  On  November  first,  the  mules  brought  our  long-looked- 
for  trunks,  and  I  found  the  package  you  had  made  ready 
for  me  last  summer.  I  am  so  pleased  with  all  the  pretty 
things.  And  the  aprons  too  !  I  shall  find  them  of  great 
use  when  I  begin  housekeeping  actively.  I  am  only  in 
the  passive  voice  as  yet.  I  came  across  a  clever  apology 
written  by  Mrs.  Arthur  Smith  when  she  had  delayed 
sending  thanks  for  a  gift.  It  begins  : — *  I  must  cry  Pec- 
cavi,  peccavi  !  but  no,  that  doesn't  express  it.     Nothing 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     331 

but  my  dear  stepmother  tongue  will  do  justice  to  my  feel- 
ings. Kai  ta,  Jcai  ssu  !  (I  ought  to  be  beaten,  I  ought  to 
be  killed  !)  This  is  what  you  say  when  you  have  com- 
mitted some  horrible  act  of  rudeness,  such  as  mounting 
your  donkey  while  your  friend  remains  on  foot.^ 

"There  has  been  an  epidemic  of  sore  eyes  in  the  Station 
Class,  and  in  some  way  I  caught  it.  So  for  two  weeks  I 
have  not  used  my  eyes  at  all.  I  am  thankful  that  my 
studying  has  not  been  interrupted,  however.  The  teacher 
has  come  in  just  as  usual,  and  read  Chinese  to  me.  It  has 
really  been  good  for  me  not  to  be  able  to  use  my  eyes  for 
a  while.  I  think  I  have  learned  to  depend  more  on  my 
ears,  which  will  help  me  with  these  varied  Chinese  tones. 
And  I  have  had  time  while  lying  around  with  band- 
aged eyes  to  think  of  my  pleasant  experiences  and  past 
pleasures. 

"  My  Chinese  teacher  is  peculiar.  He  comes  early  and 
stays  late.  His  hours  are  from  nine  to  twelve  and  from 
two  to  five,  but  he  almost  always  gives  me  an  hour  more 
all  told.  He  is  very  different  from  a  teacher  with  whom 
Miss  Garretson  studied,  of  whom  papa  has  told  me.  He 
was  always  late,  and  sometimes  wouldn't  appear  at  all. 
She  would  think  up  the  Chinese  in  which  to  scold  him,  and 
when  he  arrived  he  would  sit  there  very  calmly  and  cor- 
rect her  idiom  as  she  heaped  reproof  upon  his  head.  The 
joke  of  it  often  compelled  her  to  leave  the  room  to  have 
her  laugh  out. 

"My  teacher  has  some  peccadilloes.  For  instance,  he 
will  scratch  on  my  green  table-cloth  with  the  sharp  brass 
cap  belonging  to  his  Chinese  pen.  He  is  going  through 
the  motions  for  writing  the  characters.  When  I  think  of 
him  being  here  six  hours  a  day  for  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  days,  I  think,  woe  to  the  table-cloth  !  And  that 
reckoning  is  only  for  one  year.  I  may  have  him  several 
years.     *  Don't  do  that '  is  so  blunt.     When  I  can  muster 


332  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

up  good  Chinese  to  say,  ^  Let  not  your  honorable  pen  be 
debased  by  such  condescending  contact  with  my  mean 
cloth,'  then  I  may  hope  to  save  the  table-cloth. '^ 

The  Girls'  School  was  in  charge  of  a  good  matron,  and 
Dr.  Murdock  carried  on  work  among  women,  but  Etta 
was  anxious  for  the  time  when  she  could  speak  enough 
to  take  her  part  in  what  was  to  be  done.  Parts  of  her 
letters  home  show  how  she  began  to  take  hold  of  work. 

^^  Janumi/  SOj  1894, 
"To-day  my  schoolgirls  came  over  and  sang  and 
looked  at  pictures  for  an  afternoon.  Mrs.  Sprague  could 
not  come  to  play  for  them,  so  in  my  haggling  way, 
I  played  and  tried  to  lead  the  singing.  But  as  it  was 
hard  to  look  at  the  Chinese  characters  and  the  notes 
both,  it  wasn't  a  great  success.  So  I  finally  played 
*  Where,  oh,  where  are  the  Hebrew  children '  very  slowly, 
and  they  sang.  I  am  trying  to  break  them  of  the 
extra  quavers  they  put  in,  and  if  I  had  the  matron 
trained,  too,  I  might  hope  for  success. 

"  After  'New  Year's,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  give  explana- 
tions of  the  Gospels  in  school,  instead  of  merely  hearing 
the  Gospels  recited  j  also,  teach  geography  from  the 
maps." 

"  February  Uj  1894, 
"  The  school  matron  comes  in  often  to  visit  and  teaches 
me  a  little  Chinese.  I  show  her  the  old  albums,  and 
learn  the  names  in  Chinese  for  relationships  such  as  my 
uncle  on  my  father's  side,  uncle  on  mother's  side,  aunt 
on  my  father's  side,  aunt  on  mother's  side,  and  some 
other  intricacies.  I  go  over  to  the  school  every  day 
either  in  afternoon  or  evening,  and  show  pictures,  some 
of  natural  history,  but  mostly  from  Bible  stories,  and  I 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     338 

try  to  tell  them  about  it.  Of  course  rm  very  halting, 
but  they  help  me.  So  I  get  better  acquainted  with  the 
girls  and  practice  Chinese  also.  Sometimes  they  teach 
me  to  use  the  ^swan-p'an'  (abacus, — a  set  of  wooden 
balls  on  sticks  which  the  Chinese  use  in  calculating). 
They  coax  me  to  wear  Chinese  clothes,  and  I  said  I  might 
when  my  American  dresses  wore  out,  but  at  present  I  had 
too  many  of  them  to  afford  Chinese  clothes  too.  Perhaps 
I  may  have  one  or  two  Chinese  suits  after  a  while,  not  to 
wear  all  the  time,  but  when  Vm  touring  in  the  villages.^' 

^^  April  6,  1894. 

"One  of  the  oldest  and  brightest  girls  in  school,  San 
Kaitzu,  went  home  Friday.  Her  betrothed  husband 
came  after  her  saying  that  her  grandmother  was  sick. 
Oh,  how  the  poor  girl  cried  !  She  did  so  well  in  school, 
and  was  so  happy  here.  She  is  a  good  girl,  too,  and  was 
one  of  the  five  who  joined  the  church  a  few  weeks  ago. 
She  was  grieved  mostly  because  she  had  good  reason  to 
fear  that  she  couldn't  come  back.  Her  betrothed  is  in 
straits,  and  the  school  matron  is  afraid  he  will  sell  her  to 
some  one.  I  have  a  picture  of  her  as  she  heard  the  bad 
news.  She  came  in  with  her  face  working,  and  went  be- 
hind the  door  to  cry  and  sob  bitterly.  The  matron  be- 
gan to  braid  her  hair  for  the  journey,  and  she  cried  and 
rubbed  her  eyes  with  her  wadded  upper  garment.  We 
are  so  sorry  to  lose  her, — poor  child, — such  a  pleasant, 
pretty  girl. 

"  Another  girl  who  was  in  the  school  for  a  little  while 
last  year  was  drowned  lately.  She  was  sold  by  her 
parents  to  some  people  in  the  police  court.  It  is  said 
that  she  was  told  to  roll  up  some  tissue  paper  in  a  partic- 
ular fashion.  It  is  a  task  difficult  for  a  grown  person. 
She  was  but  a  child,  and  didn't  do  it  to  suit  her  master, 
so  she  was  killed  and  her  body  thrown  in  the  river. 


334  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"My  teacher  amused  me  the  other  day  by  saying 
<  Good-bye  ^  as  he  went  out  of  the  door.  I  suppose  the 
Pilgrims  when  they  heard  Samoset  say  '  Welcome,  Eng- 
lishmen ^  were  surprised  in  the  same  fashion. 

"Hearing  recitations  still  confuses  me,  also  the  st(?an- 
j^'^an  (abacus).  Tuesday  I  prayed  in  Chinese  for  the  first 
time  at  school  prayers. 

"The  teacher  is  writing  radicals  and  phonetics  on 
blank  cards,  and  I  make  a  word  game  with  them  to  help 
the  schoolgirls  remember  characters.  It  is  fascinating. 
I  can  hardly  leave  it.'^ 

^^  August  2^  189J^ 
"I  have  climbed  Mt.  Williams  and  visited  Yen  Chia 
Tung,  since  writing  you  last.  My  Yen  Chia  Tung  visit 
was  on  Monday.  Dr.  Murdock  and  I  went  on  donkeys. 
I  took  pictures  to  give  to  the  girls  who  had  committed  to 
memory  some  of  the  catechism.  You  should  have  seen 
their  delight  over  pictures  of  *  Yinolia  Soap,'  and  the  lit- 
tle gilt-edged  boxes  I  gave  them.  We  were  entertained 
in  one  of  the  homes,  and  while  they  offered  us  tea  and 
muskmelon,  I  showed  the  pictures  in  my  Story  of  the 
Gospel,  and  asked  my  Bible  woman  to  read  the  passages 
in  the  New  Testament  which  explained  them. 

"You  would  be  amused  to  see  the  First  Eeader  I  am 
getting  up  for  the  Chinese  girls.  I  cut  out  leaves  from  an 
old  pamphlet  with  stiff  covers,  and  pasted  in  pictures  of 
cats,  dogs  and  horses,  and  advertisements  of  cod -liver  oil, 
and  Mellin's  Food,  with  the  Chinese  characters  opposite 
each.  The  cod-liver  oil  and  Mellin's  Food  were  to  illus- 
trate <fish,'  and  Uittle  child.'  " 

''Kalgan,  Oct,  1,  189^. 
"It  is  such  a  delight  to  get  new  phrases.     I  do  almost 
every  day,  not  from  books,  but  from  people.     I  do  like 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     335 

to  study  Chinese  so  much.  It^s  fun  and  work  too,  but 
work  that  gives  so  much  satisfaction. 

"  r  ve  been  to  prayer-meeting  to  rest  my  eyes.  I  don^t 
feel  it  my  duty  to  go  to  all  the  Chinese  meetings,  but  I 
generally  do,  not  for  duty^s  sake,  but  to  help  my  Chinese. 
The  meetings  themselves  are  not  very  profitable  to  me  as 
prayer-meetings  yet.  One  can^t  be  in  a  devotional  frame 
and  a  language  studying  frame  at  once, — that  is,  at  first 
when  one  must  be  on  the  strain  to  catch  words,  and  re- 
member them  while  catching  more. 

"I  am  thinking  of  sending  for  an  English-Russian 
phrase  book,  so  I  can  talk  to  the  Russian  ladies  who 
speak  neither  Chinese  nor  English.  Of  course  what  I  say 
will  be  very  poor  Russian,  but  it  will  bridge  the  yawning 
gulf  of  silence  by  making  them  laugh,  and  feel  a  pitying 
kindness  to  my  attempts.  Isn^t  it  queer,  the  comfortable 
superiority  we  feel  over  another  *  person  who  makes 
blunders  in  speaking  our  language  ? 

^^  To-day,  while  hearing  Yanna  recite,  I  said,  *You 
have  recited  about  Abraham.  Now  who  was  Abraham's 
son?'  She  hesitated,  though  I  don't  know  how  many 
times  I  have  asked  that  question  of  the  school  together 
and  individually.  So  I  prompted  her,  ^  Isaac.  Now  who 
was  Isaac's  father  ?'  This  question  was  a  worse  puzzle. 
Yanna  finally  said,  *  Zebedee.'  An  older  girl  prompted 
her,  'Jacob.' 

"The  girls  memorize  beautifully,  chapter  after  chap- 
ter, but  they  have  hard  times  thinking  out  what  it  all 
means.  They  would  probably  not  have  attempted  any 
answer  whatever,  if  I  had  not  been  almost  daily  questioning 
them  on  the  relationships  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob. 
I  have  also  asked  them  when  reciting  about  James  and 
John,  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  '  Who  was  the  father  of  James 
and  John  ? '  They  are  completely  nonplussed.  When  I 
tell  them,  Tz  Tz  is  the  only  one  who  sees  anything  funny 


336  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

in  their  perplexity.  I  have  illustrated  by  naming  schol- 
ars, and  fathers  of  the  scholars,  but  we  can^t  seem  to  get 
Abraham  and  Isaac  on  a  natural  comfortable  basis. 

"A  thought  has  struck  me ;  I  shall  use  4ieh'  instead 
of  ^Fu  eh' in,'  and  see  how  they  take  it  then.  To  trans- 
late, say  use  *pa'  or  ^dad^  instead  of  'father.' 

"  Every  day  Mrs.  Sung's  son  John  tells  me  Bible  stories 
which  I  repeat  as  well  as  I  can.  It  helps  me  to  under- 
stand and  talk,  beside  giving  me  Bible  stories  at  my 
tongue's  end  to  tell  the  scholars  and  visitors. 

"There  is  a  young  teacher  in  the  city  who,  I  think, 
will  make  a  good  instructor  for  Cora  and  Dr.  "Waples 
when  they  come.  I  am  planning  to  give  him  a  few  les- 
sons on  teaching,  using  Dr.  Goodrich's  *  table  method.' 
I  really  think  I  know  in  some  ways  what  a  beginner 
needs  better  than  people  who  have  been  years  in  China, 
for  they  forget  what  are  the  first  difficulties,  and  it  all 
seems  so  easy  then." 

(In  the  fall  of  1894,  Dr.  Murdock  was  transferred  to 
Pekiug,  and  Dr.  F.  A.  Waples  and  his  wife,  who  was 
Cora  Eiggs,  Etta's  cousin,  aiTived  at  Kalgan.) 

^^Novemher  i,  189Ji„ 
"The  teacher  has  commenced  giving  lessons  to  Cora 
and  the  doctor.  I  tell  Cora  that  she  is  pursuing  the 
Squeers'  system  of  instruction.  Mr.  Squeers,  you  know, 
had  a  boy  spell  window  'w-i-n-d-e-r,'  and  then  go  and 
wash  it.  Cora  and  Dr.  Waples  learn  a  sentence,  and  im- 
mediately try  it  on  the  second  man  or  the  nurse  or  whom- 
ever they  need  to  talk  to  just  then.  They  are  doing  very 
well.  Cora  has  the  best  ear  for  language  and  gets  her 
sentences  arranged  best,  but  Dr.  Waples  is  so  persistent 
he  will  be  able  to  talk  soon.  I  have  done  some  trans- 
lating when  he  talks  to  patients,  and  like  it  for  the  exer- 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     337 

else.  Sometimes  it  is  very  hard,  and  turns  me  pale  at 
the  thought  of  turning  it  into  Chinese.  Doctors'  direc- 
tions are  especially  tough  to  put  into  Chinese, — so  many 
unfamiliar  phrases.  I  go  around  it  and  use  descriptions 
and  motions  and  the  teacher  helps  us  out. 

"  Yesterday  I  put  down  in  my  diary  as  a  day  to  turn 
one's  hair  gray.  There  were  so  many  things  to  see  to, 
and  I  had  to  discharge  the  sewing  woman  for  untidiness, 
and  tell  the  teacher  that  I  had  been  paying  him  too  much 
salary  and  make  it  less.  I  can  express  common  things 
in  Chinese,  so  as  to  be  understood,  and  I  can  explain 
parts  of  the  Gospels,  but  as  for  putting  unpleasant  things 
in  the  least  unpleasant  way,  I  give  up  at  that  point." 

A  letter  of  thanks,  written  in  the  fall  of  1894  to  a  mis- 
sionary society  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  shows  that  Etta  was 
already  beginning  her  crusade  against  foot-binding,  of 
which  she  writes  so  much  later. 

".  .  .  I  have  waited  to  write  my  thankfulness 
until  I  could  decide  upon  something  especially  nice  in 
which  to  use  your  money  j  some  special  object  that  you 
could  feel  was  your  very  own.  I  thought  of  using  it  to 
pay  the  cheerful,  smiling  Bible  woman  who  goes  out 
every  day  about  Kalgan,  telling  Bible  stories,  and  ex- 
plaining and  singing  hymns  in  many  Chinese  homes. 
Then  I  thought  of  using  it  for  a  girls'  school  in  a  village 
five  miles  from  here.  I  wish  you  could  see  those  girls, — 
almost  street  Arabs,  bright,  and  often  pretty,  in  spite  of 
their  dirt.  Then  I  thought  you  would  like  to  buy  shoes 
and  stockings  for  the  girls  with  large  feet.  You  see  it  is 
very  hard  for  parents  to  consent  that  their  daughters' 
feet  should  be  unbound,  and  the  shoes  and  stockings  for 
large  feet  cost  more,  so  we  help  them  by  promising  shoes 
and  stockings  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 

*^  Now  I  have  another  plan  which  I  will  tell  you  of,  and 


338  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

later  I  will  write  if  it  is  carried  out.  There  is  a  girl  in 
my  school  about  eleven  years  old,  who  is  a  little  *  bride.  ^ 
She  was  bought  by  one  of  our  Christian  women  as  a  wife 
for  her  eldest  son.  She  was  not  married  to  him,  for  she 
was  too  young,  but  the  *  mother-in-law '  put  the  child  in 
our  school.  Last  year  the  eldest  son  said  he  wouldn't 
marry  Anna  (or  Ya  Na,  as  the  Chinese  say  it), — she  was 
too  ugly.  The  mother  weakened,  gave  money  for  a 
young  and  pretty  woman,  and  said  Ya  Na  would  do  for 
the  next  sou,  a  boy  of  sixteen  or  seventeen.  He  told  his 
mother  he  wouldn't  marry  her  if  he  could  help  it,  and  the 
next  boy,  who  is  eleven  or  twelve,  said  he  didn't  want 
her! 

^^Now,  my  plan  is  to  pay  Mrs.  Yen,  the  mother-in-law, 
the  original  price  of  the  girl,  and  also  the  money  she  has 
expended  on  clothing  her.  Then  I  can  unbind  her  feet, 
and  keep  her  in  school  here  till  she  is  ready  for  the 
Bridgman  School  in  Peking,  where  she  can  be  fitted  for 
a  teacher.  She  is  a  bright  girl,  and  if  she  is  loved,  and 
given  some  tender  care,  she  will  grow  quite  attractive. 
Now  nobody  loves  her,  and  she  is  unhappy  and  sullen, 
except  when  I  speak  to  her.  Then  her  face  grows  very 
pleasant.  I  think  after  she  has  been  at  Peking  and 
comes  back  as  a  graduate,  some  one  of  our  college  stu- 
dents will  be  glad  to  marry  her,  in  spite  of  her  natural 
feet.  .     ." 

''Ti  CM,  Dec.  15,  189 J^. 
"I  am  on  a  tour  at  present,  sitting  on  a  pile  of  my 
comfortables  and  mattress  in  a  corner  by  the  window.  A 
few  eyes  show  prominently  in  the  window  paper  holes. 
A  woman  is  sitting  beside  me,  and  Mrs.  Chang  Mei  is 
telling  her  the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus.  A  man  is 
working  the  bellows  getting  ready  the  meal,  not  for  us, 
but  for  the  people  in  the  next  room.    When  we  came,  we 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     339 

took  this  room  because  it  had  a  pot  and  cooking  range 
and  we  could  get  our  own  meals.  But  they  killed  their 
pig  to-day  and  put  it  into  their  pot,  and  now  must  use 
our  pot  to  cook  all  the  food.  I  hope  not  long,  but  we 
get  no  privacy  anyway,  so  the  cooking  in  our  room  makes 
little  difference. 

^'  I  started  Thursday  on  my  horse.  My  faithful  Yu  Fu 
followed  on  a  donkey.  In  the  cart  were  Mrs.  Yen,  the 
Bible  woman,  and  Mrs.  Chang  Mei,  wife  of  the  water- 
carrier.  I  was  in  my  Chinese  costume, — wadded  purple 
trousers,  blue  skirt,  dark  blue  silk  wadded  gown  and 
long  gown  of  squirrel  fur.  I  felt  so  bulky  I  couldn't  get 
on  my  saddle  without  mounting  the  horse-block. 

"At  Ti  Chi  we  found  a  small  inn,  and  a  comfortless 
room  with  rafters  hung  with  pieces  of  raw  pork,  and  the 
carcass  of  the  lately  departed  pig  adorning  the  chest  of 
drawers.  It  was  bad  enough  without  the  crowd  who 
filled  the  yard  and  punched  the  door. 

("I  wish  you  could  see  me  now  at  Ti  San,  driven  to  bay 
almost  against  the  wall,  while  all  the  small  girls  and  boys 
the  kang  can  hold  are  standing  on  the  kang,  and  half 
the  male  population  of  the  village  are  on  the  floor  admir- 
ing my  handwriting,  and  I  count  five  boys  on  the  pot  and 
range  this  minute.  I  have  fears  for  the  wooden  cover, 
and  say  plaintively,  *  If  you  break  that,  I  shan't  have  any- 
thing to  eat.'  Mrs.  Yen  is  driving  them  off  the  stove, 
and  an  athletic  man  has  ascended  the  kang  and  is  expell- 
ing the  children.  One  small  boy  has  lost  his  shoe,  and 
can't  get  down  to  hunt  it.  Mrs.  Yen  is  still  unsuccessful. 
I  must  go  on  telling  about  Ti  Chi.) 

*'  The  landlord's  daughter  was  a  thin-faced  girl  whom  I 
shall  call  the  Marchioness.  She  suggested  the  pictures  I 
have  seen  of  her  and  Dick  Swiveller.  She  would  fly  out 
at  people  and  eject  them  with  the  greatest  good- will  in  the 
world,  but  when  Yu  Fu  asked  her  to  get  a  little  fuel  to 


340  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

fire  our  kang,  she  said  slie  didn't  know, — her  ^dada,' — 
(father — suggestive  of  our  '  daddy,'  isn't  it  ?)  might  get  it. 
Yu  Pu  said,  ^  Your  dada  is  busy  making  the  oatmeal 
"wo  wo"  (rolls).'     But  she  wouldn't  go. 

*^She  was  clad  in  thin  garments,  and  when  we  asked 
her  why  she  had  no  wadded  clothes  she  said  she  was  go- 
ing to  be  married  soon,  and  wasn't  wearing  much  till  the 
event  came  off. 

"  It  took  all  the  efforts  and  tongues  of  the  two  women 
and  the  Marchioness  to  keep  the  people  out  at  meals.  We 
didn't  let  the  Marchioness  stay  for  the  first  meal,  and  she 
flounced  out  in  a  pet,  but  afterwards  she  proved  so  useful  in 
reviling  the  small  boys  and  ejecting  those  who  opened  the 
door  a  crack  that  we  enjoyed  her  company  and  kept  her 
with  us.  It  was  rather  shocking  to  see  her  punch  some 
one's  face  through  the  window  and  she  said  a  great  many 
things  about  the  mothers  of  the  boys  which  were  not  com- 
plimentary. Perhaps  my  women  who  were  kept  by  princi- 
ple from  reviling  felt  a  kind  of  relief  in  hearing  it  done 
so  successfully  for  them. 

"  The  first  day  after  coming,  the  window  paper  was 
quite  ruined,  and  the  next  day  we  had  to  take  advertise- 
ment pages  and  the  Child's  Magazine  and  paste  up  a  kind 
of  screen.  The  Marchioness  was  eager  to  learn  and  got 
nearly  a  page  of  the  Three  Character  Classic  before  we 
went.  I  grew  so  tired  sitting  on  the  kang  in  the  smallest 
possible  space  that  I  had  soon  no  spirit  left  to  try  to  talk, 
and  left  most  of  the  preaching  to  the  women,  though  I  did 
teach  several  girls  the  San  Tzu  Ching. 

"  Saturday  Helper  Kao  Yueh  came,  and  preached  Sun- 
day in  the  yard.  I  was  glad  to  get  out,  and  felt  less  like 
an  idol  than  before.  When  one  has  been  sitting  cross- 
legged  for  a  few  days,  one  feels  as  if  the  Buddhas  with  so 
many  pairs  of  legs  all  crossed  deserved  canonization  for 
theii-  mortification  of  body. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     341 

"Monday  we  started,  leaving  enougli  money  with  the 
innkeeper  to  help  considerably  with  his  daughter's  wed- 
ding. We  went  to  Ti  Pa  passing  An  Chia  Pu,  though  if 
we  had  stopped  there  it  would  have  saved  us  twenty  li 
(seven  miles).  When  we  got  to  the  liver's  edge  at  Ti  Pa, 
luckily  another  cart  bearing  wedding  guests  went  in  be- 
fore us,  and  had  a  hard  time.  First  a  man  waded  in  tak- 
ing off  shoes  and  outer  trousers.  The  river  was  full  of 
ice  and  the  day  very  cold.  Their  cart  nearly  upset  going 
in,  and  stuck  in  the  ice  at  the  other  side.  We  saw  them 
getting  out,  all  arrayed  as  they  were  in  their  wedding 
clothes,  to  help  get  the  cart  up  with  pickaxes.  The  big 
wedding  cake  was  still  on  this  side.  Our  cart  was  much 
heavier  and  would  certainly  upset,  so  back  we  had  to  go 
to  An  Chia  Pu.  There  we  decided  to  cross,  though  the  old 
woman  at  the  inn  entertained  us  with  dismal  tales  of  wed- 
ding guests  in  carts  breaking  through  the  ice,  and  being 
carried  out  on  men's  backs  at  a  tiao  (fifty  cents)  a  head. 
The  carter  was  speechless  with  cold  when  pulled  out,  and 
the  cart  stayed  all  night  in  the  river.  Also  other  tales 
of  mules  falling  through  the  ice  and  never  appearing 
again. 

"But  I  was  determined  to  cross,  so  off  we  started  on 
the  ice.  A  heavy  cart  crossing  before  us  was  reassuring. 
Once  our  cart  mules  slipped  and  the  shaft  mule  couldn't 
get  up  for  some  time.  I  walked,  and  enjoyed  it,  remem- 
bering skating  days.  The  winter  day  was  so  quiet,  with 
a  blue  haze  over  everything,  and  blue  hills  on  the  further 
side.  Perhaps  all  my  recreation  now  must  come  in  my 
touring, — skating  and  sliding  in  the  winter  and  wading 
(involuntarily)  in  the  summer. 

"  The  Yang  is  a  very  wide  river  with  sand-banks  divid- 
ing it  into  several  parts.  The  road  we  took  was  circui- 
tous and  nearly  one  and  a  half  miles  over  the  ice.  So  Yu 
Fu  thought  I  ought  to  ride  the  horse  after  a  while.    I 


342  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

got  on,  and  had  my  heart  in  my  mouth  several  times,  go- 
ing over  the  smooth  ice.  The  hoi-se  was  careful,  and 
planted  his  feet  in  the  best  places,  so  he  didn't  fall, 
though  he  slipped  often. 

^*  We  reached  Ti  San,  and  were  welcomed  at  the  gate 
by  small  boys  who  knew  me.  The  Bible  woman's  aunt 
lives  here  and  had  a  vacant  room  with  a  pot  and  stove  in, 
so  we  came  here. 

'''  We  sold  a  great  many  books  to-day.  It  was  all  the 
rage  to  buy,  and  all  the  small  boys  entreated  their  mothers 
for  money  to  get  books.  Just  now  the  men  are  reluc- 
tantly leaving,  and  two  women  sit  patiently  on  the  kang 
waiting  to  be  taught.  I  have  written  all  except  the  very 
first  page  of  this  letter  in  the  presence  of  forty  or  fifty 
witnesses. 

^'  On  the  wall  I  have  nailed  two  pictures, — Christ  Cru- 
cified and  the  Prodigal  Son.  A  woman  bought  a  Luke, 
and  I  read  the  fifteenth  chapter  to  her,  telling  her  to  have 
someone  at  home  read  it  to  her." 

^'Kalgan,  Dec.  27,  1894- 
^^  The  school  matron's  niece  Hsi  Hsi  is  to  have  her  feet 
unbound.  She  doesn't  want  to,  and  goes  around  with 
her  eyes  red  with  crying,  but  my  stony  heart  is  unmoved. 
You  see,  it  isn't  that  she  is  of  so  much  importance  but 
her  aunt,  as  matron  of  the  Girls'  School,  must  not 
have  her  influence  against  natural  feet.  As  I  told 
Mrs.  Sung,  '  Every  one  says  that  you  are  opposed  to  un- 
binding feet,  and  if  you  unbind  Hsi  Hsi's,  no  one  can  say 
that' 

"  You  ought  to  have  seen  the  family  consultation  in  my 
room.  Mrs.  Sung,  and  Tz  Tz,  her  daughter,  and  Wang 
Ch'en,  Hsi  Hsi's  brother,  and  Mrs.  Sung's  son  John.  He 
is  the  bridegroom  expectant  and  could  speak  with  author- 
ity, but  he  doesn't  want  to  marry  Hsi  Hsi  and  wouldn't 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     343 

speak.  Now  lie  said,  and  Hsi  Hsi's  brother  joined  in, 
that  the  trouble  was  in  having  to  go  home  to  Yu  Chou, 
where  the  people  had  never  seen  a  large-footed  woman. 
I  said,  ^Hsi  Hsi  need  not  go  home.  She  can  stay  in 
Kalgan.  If  I  should  die  and  could  not  see  to  giving 
the  money  to  keep  her  here,  my  friends  can  do  it.^ 
John  said,  ^  If  I  should  preach  in  Kalgan,  it  would  be 
all  right,  but  I  couldn't  preach  in  Yu  Chou.  No  one 
would  listen  to  me  if  my  wife  were  a  large- footed  woman.' 
I  said,  '  The  doctor  has  a  place  for  you  here  if  you  will 
study  medicine,  and  if  you  don't,  a  place  can  be  made 
for  you  to  preach  here  or  near  here.' 

"  You  should  have  been  here  to  study  the  different  ex- 
pressions. John  was  sitting  with  his  head  down,  looking 
very  serious,  the  matron  was  depressed,  and  Tz  Tz  and 
Wang  Ch'en  felt  so  nervous  that  they  giggled  softly. 
Wang  Ch'en  felt  strange  to  be  talking  about  feet  and  such 
things  before  such  a  large  assembly, — it  is  Chinese  cus- 
tom not  to  speak  of  bound  feet  before  men.  Tz  Tz  was 
angry,  and  giggled  convulsively  as  she  said,  *  Come, 
mother,  let's  go  right  home  and  unbind  Hsi  Hsi's  feet.' 

"  That  was  Friday.  On  Thursday,  Teacher  Lo  of  the 
Boys'  School  had  called  to  read  to  me  the  resolutions  he 
had  drawn  up  for  an  Anti-Foot-Binding  Society.  Then 
the  women  and  schoolgirls  were  called  in,  and  he  read  it 
to  them  and  explained,  and  spoke  of  Confucius  and 
Mencius,  whose  wives  had  large  feet. 

"My  circular  letter  came  from  the  girls,  Abbie  and 
Gertrude  and  Annie  Gould  and  Mary  Louise  Partridge. 
Miss  Partridge  is  so  happy  in  Shansi,  and  so  pleased  to 
wear  Chinese  costume." 

'^February  12,  1895, 

"  My  dear  family,  please  imagine  me  as  a  matchmaker. 
I  have  lately  blossomed  out  as  such.  You'll  never  tell, 
but  I  am  entrusted  with  seeking  a  large-footed  wife  for 


344  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

ODe  of  the  boys  in  school,  Jen  Te  Ming.  He  is  poor,  and 
I  found  out  from  the  Boys'  School  teacher  that  he  would 
be  willing  to  take  a  large-footed  wife,  if  helped  out  on 
the  betrothal  money.  I  am  thinking  of  soliciting  Helper 
Kao  Hsi  for  the  hand  of  the  fair  Huan  Huan.  But  Huan 
Huan  might  come  high,  so  perhaps  a  poorer  girl  might 
do.  Jen  Te  Ming  said  he  would  take  any  one  not  deaf, 
blind  or  an  idiot.  The  school-teacher  has  been  telling 
him  not  to  look  for  outward  beauty." 

(While  Etta^s  youngest  sisters  were  still  in  China, 
they  took  charge  of  a  foundling,  daughter  of  one  of  Dr. 
Murdock's  best  embroiderers,  whom  she  called  the  Little 
Artist.  At  the  mother's  death,  the  father  had  abandoned 
the  baby.  Margaret  and  Anna  saved  money  for  her  sup- 
port by  going  without  butter,  so  the  child  was  often 
spoken  of  as  the  Butter  Baby.  During  the  family's 
absence  in  the  United  States,  the  little  girl  was  in  care  of 
neighbors  in  the  country,  and  was  just  now  brought  back 
to  Kalgan  to  be  put  in  the  school.) 

"  February  20,  1895. 

"The  artist's  little  girl  has  come  to  school, — not  to 
study,  for  she  is  still  too  young  by  several  years.  She 
was  frightened  by  me,  and  inquired,  ^  Na  shih  ke  sa  tung 
hsi  1 ' — '  What  kind  of  a  thing  is  that  ? '  I  laughed  over 
the  phrase  a  good  many  times. 

"  Now  I  have  seven  girls  in  school  with  large  feet.  So 
I  have  hopes  some  time  of  supplying  enough  wives  for 
the  boys  in  school  who  wish  large-footed  wives.  Three 
of  my  seven  are  engaged  already,  so  the  seven  boys  are 
not  all  provided  for.'' 

^^  Kalgan,  April  2Sd. 
"I'm  coaxing  Miss  Hinman  to  come  to  Kalgan  for  the 
summer.    She  is  doing  splendidly  on  Chinese,  and  is  the 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     345 

pride  of  Teng  Shih  Kou.  I  must  study  this  summer. 
And  oh,  there  is  so  much  that  I  want  to  do  for  the  school- 
girls, especially  those  who  came  last  and  know  so  little 
of  the  Gospel  or  anything.  One  poor  child  without  any 
decent  clothes— (what  she  wears  was  scraped  up  by  the 
school  matron) — I  am  so  sorry  for  her.  She  was  naughty 
while  I  was  away,  wouldn't  comb  her  hair  or  eat  or  study, 
and  threatened  to  kill  herself  after  they  punished  her. 

^' Three  of  our  schoolgirls  have  no  clothes,  and  Cho 
Hsien  Sheng  thinks  they  should  be  sent  home.  Perhaps 
I  had  better  give  my  linen  duster  and  calico  Mother  Hub- 
bard to  make  clothes  for  them.  I  have  mamma's  letter 
speaking  about  foot-binding.  We  are  much  farther  ad- 
vanced in  that  than  when  I  wrote.  Hsi  Hsi  has  her  feet 
unbound.  We  have  seven  in  all,  and  expect  to  have 
more.  God  has  blessed  our  faith  that  He  would  influence 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  for  Teng  Lao  I  writes  there  are 
girls  and  women  in  Ching  Ke  Ta  who  are  willing  to  un- 
bind their  feet.  I  have  promised  marriage  gifts  to  Huan 
Huan  and  others  who  are  natural-footed.     .     .     ." 

^^  May  28,  1895. 
^*Deae  Mamma: 

*'I  have  been  looking  forward  so  much  to  your 
coming  this  fall.  There  are  so  many  things  I  want  to  con- 
sult you  about,  and  so  many  things  I  cannot  do  alone.  I 
want  to  have  a  station  class  this  year.  And  I'd  like  to 
go  out  touring  oftener.  I  cannot  talk  very  freely  yet,  but 
with  the  large  Scripture  pictures  on  the  scrolls,  I  am  able 
to  interest  people  and  teach  them  something. 

^'  You  are  quite  right  about  matchmaking  taking  time 
and  money.  It  is  not  as  matchmaking  that  I  do  it,  but  to 
help  the  anti-foot-binding  movement  to  start  here.  There 
are  few  things  that  I  care  to  use  my  money  for  more 
than  that.     Still  I  don't  want  to  hurt  the  spirit  of  self- 


346  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

dependence,  what  there  is  of  it,  among  our  Christians. 
And  1^11  try  to  be  very  careful,  and  consult  older  and 
wiser  people. 

"  Yesterday  I  went  with  the  Bible  woman  to  two  houses 
near  here  with  my  scroll  pictures.  The  Bible  woman  did 
most  of  the  talking,  but  I  explained  some  pictures.  A 
little  boy  listened  attentively,  and  I  offered  to  teach  him, 
as  his  mother  lamented  that  he  was  too  poor  to  go  to 
school.  At  another  place  the  mother-in-law,  an  active, 
bustling,  voluble  person,  remembered  Miss  Garretsonand 
Miss  Diament.  *Ah,  Miss  Diament  was  a  good  lady. 
She  used  to  touch  my  feet  and  say,  ^*  Poor  feet,  they  hurt, 
don't  they?"  ^ 

"This  woman,  when  some  one  else  came  in  who  wanted 
to  see  the  pictures  again,  almost  took  the  words  out  of 
the  Bible  woman's  mouth  in  explaining,  so  eager  was  she 
to  show  that  she  knew  it.  And  she  did  very  well.  She 
is  a  clever  woman.'' 

^^  June  29 y  1895. 

"You  ought  to  see  the  diminutive  Liya  come  to  my 
window  nowadays,  and  tap  on  the  glass.  She  won't  talk 
yet,  but  comes  in,  and  absorbs  beans  in  her  outside  bib 
pocket,  and  stands  at  a  chair  scribbling  with  a  pencil  I 
lend  her.  She  is  really  fond  of  me,  for  when  the  naughty 
schoolgirls  tell  her  I  am  dead,  she  rushes  over  to  see 
whether  I  am  still  in  the  land  of  the  living.  To  tease  her, 
some  of  them  will  say,  ^  I  will  hit  Ma  Kuniang  '  and  she 
bristles  all  over  and  says,  *You  shan't  touch  myChieh 
Chieh'  (elder  sister).  She  calls  me  sister,  and  papa, 
adopted  father. 

"  I  have  had  such  a  nice  time  going  out  with  the  Bible 
woman.  We  go  to  Chiao  Tung  (East  of  the  Bridge) 
usually,  and  the  women  and  girls  stand  in  the  gates  and 
say  *  Aren't  you  coming  in  this  time?'  As  yet  I  can't 
say  that  I  do  much  good,  but  it  gives  me  practice  talking 


LETTERS  OF  HENEIETTA  WILLIAMS     34? 

and  I  get  acquainted  with  the  women.     I  do  like  the 
Bible  woman  very  much. 

*' A  day  or  two  ago,  I  intended  to  put  eye- water  in  my 
eyes  and  by  mistake  put  in  carbolic  acid.  It  pained,  and 
the  eye  nearly  closed.  I  had  verses  on  the  event  ready 
to  read  at  Mr.  Sprague^s  birthday  celebration. 

"  That  ere  eye,  once  so  beaming  and  placid 
Bunged  itself  up  with  carbolic  acid. 

"  She  of  the  aspect  smiling  and  jocular 
May  be  said  to  have  vision,  not  bi — but  monocular. 

Or  if  Abbie  Ohapin  should  not  come,  there  was  this  verse 
ready : 

"  She  of  the  visage  so  melancholic 
Damaged  her  eye  with  acid  carbolic." 

^' July  18,  1895, 
"Last  Saturday  I  was  examined  on  my  first  whole 
year's  work.    That  evening  I  tried  to  compose  something 
on  the  order  of  the  '  Irish  Christening.' 

"  'Twas  up  in  that  province  called  Chibli 
"Where  it's  so  chilly  and  so  hilly 
And  oh,  it  was  wonderful,  really 
That  they  gathered  such  a  crowd. 
Poor  Miss  Williams  an  aspen  resembled 
As  she  trembled,  and  dissembled 
For  from  highway  and  hedge  they'd  assembled 
To  hear  this  poor  soul  '  k'ao-ed  *  (examined). 

"  Vettie  B.  Sprague  and  Deborah  Douw, 
James  A.  Roberts,  Examiner  to-day, 
Mark  Williams,  the  senior  at  Kalgan  now, 
And  Susan  Fidelity 
Far  more  than  these  were  invited. 
None  were  slighted,  wrongs  were  righted. 
Alas,  if  we'd  been  more  far-sighted 
We'd  have  known  they  wouldn't  all  come. 


348  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"  For  there  was  the  sickly  gatekeeper. 
And  the  late  sleeper  and  the  great  teacher, 
The  school  cook,  water-carrier,  tea  steeper, 
Why  did  they  all  stay  at  home  ? 

"  I  haven^t  much  start  on  the  next  verses  which  should 
describe  the  examination.  One  line  should  be  ^  And 
they  gave  her  showers  of  tzu  haoerhs,'  etc.  But  Mr. 
Eoberts  didn't  give  me  any  tzu  haoerhs  to  recognize. 
Tzu  haoerhs  are  Chinese  characters  written  separately  on 
slips  of  paper.  It  is  harder  to  remember  them  that  way 
than  when  you  see  them  in  connection  with  other  words. 
Perhaps  next  year's  examination  will  give  me  ideas  to 
finish  this  Ode, 

"  Miss  Gowans  is  so  good  and  helps  me  hearing  recita- 
tions, and  took  school  prayers  for  me  for  a  week  before 
my  examination.  She  is  such  a  dear, — one  of  the  dearest 
I  ever  knew.  I  wish  we  might  keep  her  here  always  in- 
stead of  just  a  summer's  visit. 

"  Mr.  Larson,  the  ITorwegian  missionary  to  the  Mon- 
gols, has  been  boarding  at  the  Spragues'.  He  enjoyed 
Miss  Gowans  and  Miss  Rodgers'  society  very  much,  I 
find  him  very  interesting.  He  is  a  Norse  Viking  and 
ought  to  have  a  Saga  written  about  him  and  his  ad- 
ventures." 


^^  Mongol  Plains,  Aug,  U,  1895, 
^'  My  Beloved  Family  : 

"  This  is  Miss  Hinman's  beginning.  I  cribbed  it, 
as  a  taking  title  is  half  the  battle.  I  shall  not  speak  of 
*  prairies,'  either,  for  her  phrase  sounds  so  much  better, 
— *  billowy  waves  of  grass.' 

**  I  must  tell  you  about  our  trip,  and  about  Mongolia. 
We  started  early  Wednesday  morning.  The  carts  had 
to  go  through  the  city,  but  Miss  Gowans  and  I  on  our 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     349 

donkeys  took  the  short  cut  across  the  mountains,  past 
Picnic  Tower,  and  came  out  on  the  Russian  Valley, 
just  opposite  the  great  hole  in  the  rock,  through  which 
you  know  people  say  Genghis  Khan  shot  his  arrow  j 

"  On  reaching  the  valley,  we  waited  half  an  hour  for 
the  carts  to  come  up.  In  the  front  cart  were  Mr.  and 
Mi-s.  Sprague,  and  mattresses,  pillows  and  truck.  The 
second  had  Miss  Douw,  who  had  a  cold  and  was  very 
weak,  and  miserable,  lying  down,  also  Miss  Rodgers  and 
mattresses,  pillows  and  truck.  Mrs.  Chapin  and  Baby 
Ralph  were  in  the  third  cart  with  more  mattresses  and 
pillows.  Miss  Hinman  loathes  carts,  so  she  was  walking, 
and  two  Chinese  preachers,  who  went  to  preach  and  sell 
books  at  a  fair,  were  walking  most  of  the  time. 

"I  gave  my  donkey  over  to  Miss  Hinman,  and  Miss 
Rodgera  and  I  and  the  baby  and  John,  the  school 
matron^s  son,  all  sat  in  Mrs.  Chapin' s  cart,  while  she 
rode  the  other  donkey.  We  talked  English  with  John, 
and  taught  him  by  asking  questions,  and  he  answered 
pretty  well.  Next  I  went  on  to  the  Spragues'  cart,  and 
interpreted  the  Chinese  puns  Teacher  Lo  was  getting  off, 
to  amuse  Mrs.  Sprague, — for  instance,  about  Miss 
Go  wans.  'She  is  named  Kao  (high),'  said  he,  'but  she 
is  really  short.' 

''That  afternoon,  we  younger  ones  walked  up  the  high 
Hanore  Hill,  enjoying  the  view  from  the  summit.  The 
mountains  we  count  high  around  Kalgan  were  so  small 
and  far  away  from  there,  and  there  was  a  glorious  sun- 
set. 

"Arriving  at  the  Hanore  inn,  we  secured  two  rooms, 
and  spread  out  bedding,  and  made  supper  ready  when  a 
surprise  came.  Mr.  Aiken's  servant  rode  up  to  say  that 
the  Aikens,  baby  and  all,  were  not  far  behind.  They 
had  rather  envied  our  jolly  appearance  as  we  rode  off, 
so  Mr.  Aiken  rushed  out,  hired  a  cart,  and  they  packed 


350  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

and  got  started  three  hours  after  we  did.  They  must 
have  had  a  time  going  up  that  terrible  Hanore  Hill  in 
the  dark. 

"We  retired  to  rest, — (such  was  our  hope)  but  our 
roomful  didn't  rest  much.  Our  room  was  next  the 
kitchen,  and  the  kang  was  warm.  It  made  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  room  more  than  usually  lively.  The 
mules  and  donkeys  brayed  till  they  were  exhausted. 
Then  the  men,  who  had  no  sleeping  accommodations  on 
the  kang,  because  of  the  crowd  of  visitors,  sat  outside  the 
window,  and  talked  mules  and  horses,  their  good  points 
and  selling  price.  The  baby  piped  up  a  good  deal  of  the 
night, — cause, — Bugs.  We  tried  everything  to  amuse 
him.  I  offered  him  my  mouth-organ,  which  did  for  a 
while.  He  passed  it  to  his  mother,  and  then  to  me  to 
blow,  and  I  congratulated  myself  on  my  ready  tact,  till 
he  dropped  it  on  his  nose.  Then  the  wails  that  followed 
were  more  bitter  than  before.  The  mouth-organ  has  four 
sets  of  holes  in  four  keys  and  is  heavy.  We  got  up  the 
next  morning  rather  low  in  spirit. 

"  We  went  on  up  to  the  highest  tower.  Mount  Pisgah, 
but  it  was  cloudy  and  the  view  not  very  fine. 

"  Going  on,  we  stopped  at  Ta  Hung  Kou  (Great  Bed 
Valley),  where  Abbie  and  I  had  such  a  pleasant  time 
last  summer,  and  found  so  many  flowers.  Last  year  the 
house  was  unfinished,  and  Mr.  Sprague's  sleeping  room 
had  previously  been  occupied  by  two  calves.  We  had 
no  partition  last  year  but  an  oilcloth  hung  on  a  rope. 
But  this  year  it  is  quite  elegantly  furnished,  and  a  parti- 
tion wall  built.  I  recognized  '  Topsy '  the  little  Mongol 
girl  who  was  always  racing  after  calves.  I  remembered 
almost  all, — the  babies  and  the  old  lama  (priestess) 
grandmother,  with  her  shaven  head  and  strict  ideas  of 
discipline.  Last  year  she  took  a  tent  pole,  and  hit  the 
young  hopeful  (my  Mongol  teacher,  so  called)  over  the 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     351 

head,  wlien  she  thought  he  had  been  staring  into  our  win- 
dow too  long. 

"  There  was  hardly  any  water  there.  After  they  had 
made  us  a  little  tea,  there  was  none  left.  None  of  the 
Chinese  had  anything  to  drink,  till  we  reached  the  Ta 
Shao  Yeh's.  (The  Ta  Shao  Yeh  is  eldest  of  a  family 
of  Mongol  princes.  He  is  most  kind  to  foreigners.) 
There  we  were  given  rooms  or  large  nice  tents.  We 
watched  the  Mongols  putting  up  another  tent  for  our 
Chinese,  and  it  was  an  interesting  combination  of  wooden 
lattice  work,  which  can  stretch  to  any  desired  size,  tied 
with  ropes  to  a  frame  something  like  a  skeleton  um- 
brella. 

^'Saturday  morning  the  cart  was  hitched  up  for  a 
pleasure  drive.  The  donkeys  went  too.  The  gray 
donkey  developed  a  faculty  for  sitting  down  when  being 
ridden.  The  flies  made  him  cross, — they  bit  his  ears  till 
they  were  all  bloody.  Miss  Douw's  man  took  his  big 
handkerchief,  and  tied  the  ears  together,  to  shield  the 
sore  spots.  Then  the  gray  creature  looked  like  an 
eccentric  unicorn. 

^ '  On  our  way  home,  three  mounted  Mongols  came  racing 
after  us,  very  angry.  They  had  seen  us  on  the  sacred 
hill, — 'oba,^  they  call  it, — and  they  said  we  had  pro- 
faned their  holy  place.  Mr.  Sprague  told  them  we 
didn't  know,  and  wouldn't  do  it  again.  Miss  Douw's 
man  lit  his  pipe  from  the  Mongol's  pipe,  and  talked 
soothingly  to  them,  till  they  were  melted,  and  invited 
everybody  to  come  to  their  temple  and  drink  tea. 

^*  Monday  it  rained  cats  and  dogs,  and  we  sat  in  the 
tent  and  wrote  letters.  Then  we  played  Halma  while 
Miss  Hinman  sketched  Miss  Eodgers  and  her  shoe.  The 
shoe  sole  was  broken  and  flapping  in  the  middle,  and 
Miss  Eodgers  wanted  to  send  the  picture  home  to  her 
mother^  who  used  to  call  her  extravagant  about  her  foot- 


352  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

wear.  This  was  to  show  the  point  of  missionary  self- 
denial  to  which  she  had  come  in  China. 

*' Tuesday  it  stopped  raining,  and  we  went  to  the  Szti 
Shao  Yeh's.  I  rode  Mr.  Aiken's  horse  and  enjoyed  it, 
but  couldn't  get  him  to  gallop.  His  trot  was  damaging 
to  one's  hair  and  feelings.  The  Szti  Shao  Yeh  was  not  at 
home,  but  the  Living  Buddha  welcomed  us  in,  first  to  a 
room  with  a  fire,  where  we  admired  the  clock.  It  had  a 
figure  of  a  lady  playing  a  banjo,  and  her  hand  moved  up 
and  down  with  the  ticking  of  the  clock,  l^ext  we  sat  in 
a  large  reception  room,  where  we  had  very  nice  cheese 
and  tea.  They  brought  in  the  famous  steel  engravings, 
enclosed  in  thick  board  covers,  with  *  Given  by  the  Em- 
peror '  in  large  gilt  letters  on  the  varnished  board.  These 
engravings,  I  should  say,  are  42x24  inches,  and  there 
are  over  ten  of  them.  They  represent  the  campaigns  of 
the  Emperor  K'ang  Hsi  against  the  Mohammedans  in 
Hi,  and  against  the  Eleuth  tribe  of  Mongols.  They  were 
drawn  by  Jesuit  missionaries,  engraved  at  Paris  from 
1769  to  1773  (as  the  plates  show),  and  are  finely  executed, 
and  really  fine  in  conception.  The  Emperor  gave  them 
to  the  father  of  the  Szii  Shao  Yeh,  and  they  would  prob- 
ably bring  a  high  price  in  Europe. 

**  While  we  were  looking  at  these  pictures,  and  Baby 
Aiken  making  wild  but  fruitless  attempts  to  get  some 
cheese,  the  Szii  Shao  Yeh  came  in.  It  threatened  rain, 
so  we  couldn't  stay  long,  and  stopped  only  to  see  their 
family  temple, — a  beautiful  building  in  buff  color.  A 
great  sound  of  worship  issued  from  its  walls,  which  we 
found  all  came  from  one  priest,  who  was  chanting,  pound- 
ing cymbals,  and  beating  a  big  drum  with  all  his  might. 

"The  rain  poured  down,  and  Mr.  Aiken  had  to  ride 
home  using  the  side-saddle  I  had  used.  He  said  he  didn't 
know  what  a  feat  it  was  for  a  lady  to  ride. 

"  That  night  Mr.  Eoberts  sang  his  famous  song  of  *  The 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     353 

Torpedo  and  the  Whale,'  and  made  gestures,  and  would 
have  flapped  his  coat-tails  at  the  point — *  And  he  lashed 
out  with  his  tail,^ — but  he  wore  a  sack  coat  which  had  no 
tails.  Miss  Hinman  sang  her  song  of  ^  There  was  an  old 
Woman  who  had  a  little  pig,^  and  I,  by  request,  sang 
'McSorley's  Twins,  ^  but  not  knowing  it  well  was  much 
flustered,  and  left  out  most  of  the  words. 

"I  am  writing  a  novel  on  missionary  life  in  China, 
and  have  a  beginning  about  the  Empress,  and  an  end, 
but  no  middle  and  no  plot.  At  dinner  Thursday  I  noticed 
that  there  was  a  hole  in  Miss  Gowans'  handkerchief  where 
the  name  ought  to  be.  She  said  her  handkerchiefs  all 
wore  out  there,  because  of  bad  marking  ink.     I  said, 

*  Some  time  some  one  will  break  his  arm  or  bleed  pro- 
fusely. Miss  Gowans  will  bind  him  up  with  one  of  these 
handkerchiefs.  He  will  search  on  the  kerchief  in  vain 
for  the  name  of  his  fair  benefactress,  and  will  spend  his 
after  years  in  making  an  indelible  ink,  which  positively 
will  not  injure  the  most  delicate  fabrics.  He  will  say, 
*'Ko  one,  if  I  can  help  it,  shall  lose  track  of  the  one  he 
adores,  as  I  lost  track.  ^'  ^     Mr.  Aiken,  hearing  this,  said, 

*  I  move  that  Miss  Williams  be  appointed  for  an  extem- 
pore novel,  to  be  read  at  supper  to-night.'  So  I  wrote 
hard  on  my  novel,  but  it  wasn't  finished  by  supper- time. 

*'Oh,  I  forgot  my  gallop  that  morning.  It  was  on 
Mr.  Aiken's  horse,  and  he  was  willing  to  gallop.  My 
hair  blew  to  the  winds,  my  precious  hairpins  slid  down 
my  back,  and  my  big  hat  waved  behind.  Mr.  Larson 
said,  as  I  came  down  the  home- stretch,  ^  I  thought  it  was 
a  Mongol  riding  ! '  which  was  either  a  great  compliment 
to  my  riding,  or  the  reverse  as  to  my  appearance.  But 
what  fun  it  was  to  gallop  !  It  doesn't  seem  that  a  bicycle 
could  bring  such  exhilaration. 

"  Friday  morning  we  started  back  to  Kalgan.  Part  of 
the  time  I  rode  Mr.  Aiken's  horse,  but  didn't  enjoy  it, 


354:  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

for  he  was  too  anxious  to  eat.  He  would  crop  away  till 
the  carts  were  ahead,  then  with  his  agonizing  trot  get  in 
front  of  them,  and  begin  to  crop  again.  He  was  like  that 
prudent  warrior  Dugald  Dalgetty,  and  believed  in  stor- 
ing away  provender  at  all  times.  Eiding  the  little  black 
donkey  was  better,  and  it  was  grand  to  see  the  mountains 
coming  into  sight,  as  we  came  to  the  edge  of  the  Mon- 
golian plateau.  That  was  a  lovely  bit  of  the  journey, 
and  I  had  another  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  were  ahead 
and  waited  for  the  carts  beside  two  great  trees.  I  put  my 
head  against  the  tree  trunk  and  enjoyed  the  sky,  and  the 
beautiful  great  trees,  and  was  glad  the  donkeys  could  eat 
and  rest.  I  never  thought  so  much  before  about  the 
comfort  of  animals  as  on  this  trip.  The  gray  donkey  was 
quite  used  up,  and  the  carter  said,  grinning,  ^  Guess  weHl 
have  to  let  him  ride  the  cart  a  while.  ^ 

"  Miss  Hinman  and  I  took  the  short  cut,  walking  over 
the  mountains,  and  got  home  half  an  hour  before  the  rest. 
Everything  looked  strange  and  nice  and  clean,  and  the 
ceilings  so  high,  after  our  stay  in  tents.  My  flowei'S  had 
grown  and  so  had  weeds,  making  the  front  yard  a  per- 
fect jungle.  After  a  much-needed  wash  and  supper,  we 
all  went  to  bed  and  slept  and  slept. 

^'  So  ends  the  account  of  our  trip." 

In  September,  1895,  Etta  wrote  to  her  sisters  who  had 
entered  the  Western  College  at  Oxford,  Ohio  : — "Do  tell 
me  about  the  dear  old  place, — the  summer-house,  the 
lake,  and  the  hill,  and  bridge  over  which  I  wandered 
twelve  years  ago.  This  year  I  have  been  thinking  more 
of  the  seminary  than  I  have  for  many  years.  It  comes 
back  to  me  now, — the  lovely  grounds,  the  big  pine  trees, 
and  sweet  green  lawn.  Shall  I  ever  forget  the  woods  and 
brooks,  the  great  trunks  spanning  the  little  stream, — the 
flowers  and  birds  ?    It  all  seems  like  part  of  a  romance. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     355 

I  try  to  imagine  English  villages,  and  hedges,  and  leafy 
lanes,  and  meres,  and  fens,  but  my  memories  of  the 
Oxford  woods  are  as  picturesque  as  anything  I  can  im- 
agine. Perhaps  you  wander  by  the  summer-house  and 
old  bridge  and  wonder  if  my  name  is  carved  there.  I 
regret  to  say  I  foolishly  neglected  to  provide  thus  for  the 
pleasure  of  my  sisters. 

"  It  comes  to  me  very  freshly  now,  all  about  the  mop- 
ping on  Wednesdays,  the  dish  circle  I  was  on,  and  the 
different  tables  I  sat  at.  What  fun  we  had  on  that  early 
bread  circle  which  was,  alas,  short-lived  because  our 
lunches  were  too  luxurious.  We  were  allowed  plain 
bread  and  butter,  but  we  toasted  cheese,  and  took  cream, 
and,  like  the  bad  kittens  in  the  ^  Cats*  Arabian  Nights,' 
went  where  kittens  never  ought  to  go,  and  ate  things 
kittens  never  eat.  I  can  see  in  my  mind  very  vividly 
the  great  dishwashing  sinks  and  the  great  boilers  which 
I  cleaned  sometimes.  They  will  tell  you  the  story,  as 
they  told  me,  of  the  small  girl  who  was  cleaning  the  big 
boiler  so  vigorously  that  she  leaned  too  far  over  the 
edge,  and  fell  in  ! 

*^In  my  dreams,  sometimes,  I  go  down  those  long 
halls,  perhaps  from  43,  Third  Floor,  North  Wing.  I 
used  to  sit  in  the  library,  Sunday  mornings,  with  my 
commentaries  on  either  side,  and  listen  to  the  church 
bells,  and  think  long,  long  thoughts,  enjoying  the  sad- 
ness that  is  not  akin  to  pain. 

^^Do  tell  me  about  the  seniors,  and  which  ones  you 
adore  most.  I  know  you  will  be  madly  in  love  with  two 
or  three  girls.  It's  the  way  of  the  girls  at  Wellesley  and 
Vassar  and  Oxford.  I  remember  Frances  Bishop  was 
one  of  my  divinities.  If  I  go  back  to  the  seminary,  the 
whole  place  will  be  full  of  ghosts,  I'm  afraid, — ghosts 
that  I'll  see  in  place  of  the  merry  new  students  that 
really  are  flying  about  the  halls," 


356  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^  September  11^  1895, 
"  The  summer  guests  are  all  gone,  and  papa  has  gone 
down  to  meet  mamma  at  Tientsin,  so  I  am  alone  and  eat 
my  meals  in  state,  except  when  I  eat  with  the  school 
children  as  I  like  to  do.  Friday  I  took  the  girls  for  an 
outing  to  the  Eussians.  The  Eussian  ladies  were  so  kind 
to  my  children,  serving  tea  and  cakes,  and  picking  a 
bouquet  of  flowers  for  each.  The  Eussian  children 
brought  out  their  toys,  dolls  whose  eyes  would  open  and 
shut,  wagons  and  jumping  rabbits.'' 


(From  diary,  same  date. ) 
*^  The  kindness  of  the  Eussians  to  my  girls  made  my 
heart  warm  and  soft.     How  different  it  feels  to  have  a 
heart  grateful  to  God, — a  really  loving  heart." 

^^Septemher  18 ^  1895, 
"A  new  Swedish  missionary  has  come, — Mr.  David 
Stenberg,  who  is  to  work  with  Mr.  Larson  in  Mongolia. 
He  sang  Swedish  hymns  at  prayer-meeting,  accompany- 
ing himself  on  his  guitar,  and  told  how  he  was  called  to 
the  mission  field,  and  how  he  went  to  America  to  find  his 
support  here. 

**  The  school  matron  is  quite  worn  out  and  says  she 
must  have  a  rest.  I  think  of  getting  Mrs.  He  to  do  the 
cooking  and  washing  for  the  girls  this  year.  Six  girls 
come  to  my  room  every  day  to  put  up  their  own  hair.  I 
have  promised  hymn-books  to  all  who  learn  to  comb 
their  own  hair.  This  will  lighten  the  cares  of  the  matron. 
"The  girls  are  crazy  about  knitting.  Miss  Gowans 
taught  them,  and  bought  the  garters  they  made,  and  now 
there  are  stacks  of  garters,  and  I  don't  know  who  will 
buy  them.  Not  being  a  hundred  legged  worm,  I  can't 
take  them  all.    Hsiangtzu  knits  lace  really  well." 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     357 

"  October  22,  1895, 

"  Mamma  will  be  here  Saturday,  I  hope.  I  have  my 
stove  ready.  It  has  been  rainy,  and  this  was  a  dreary 
place,  with  the  cold  rain,  and  shivering  children.  The 
sorghum  stalks  for  their  fires  have  not  come  yet.  The 
girls  come  to  me  evenings  and  say,  '•  Oh,  do  get  us  some 
fuel.'  I  send  Wang  Shih  Te  off  to  scrape  up  or  borrow  a 
few  bundles  somewhere,  and  the  girls  are  silenced  and 
happy  till  to-morrow. 

"  Dr.  Waples  and  Cora  have  showered  blessings  on  me 
in  the  shape  of  old  woolen  clothes  which  I  can  make  over 
for  the  girls.  One  girl  already  wears  a  vest.  It  looks 
quite  like  a  ^K'an  chien  er'  without  alteration. 

"  Did  I  tell  you  I  have  planned  a  novel  about  China 
for  fun  ?  It  has  no  head  and  something  of  a  tail.  The 
tail  is  about  Mongolia.     I  have  it  divided  as  follows : 

"Prelude,  The  Duchess  of  Connaught,  and  Eleven 
Heroines. 

"Book  One,  The  War;  Book  Two,  The  Emperor 
Kuang  Hsi ;  Book  Three,  The  Litterateurs  in  Mongolia. 

"  Did  I  tell  you  about  my  nice  trip  to  Ti  San  %  They 
want  a  girls'  school  there,  and  there  are  several  women 
who  would  like  to  study  in  a  station  class,  but  can't 
leave  home  so  long.  I  feel  like  pursuing  the  Misses 
Wyckoff 's  plan.  They  have  station  classes,  but  they  go 
to  their  classes,  not  the  class  to  them. 

"Mr.  Roberts  invited  us  all  to  supper  Friday  night. 
It  was  a  little  bit  cold,  and  we  saw  the  stove  beaming. 
Mr.  Roberts  had  put  a  lighted  candle  in  the  stove  in  imi- 
tation of  the  immortal  Colonel  Sellers.  Sunday,  after 
meeting,  I  had  the  women  at  my  house  for  their  meeting, 
and  I  put  a  lighted  candle  in  my  stove,  to  repeat  the 
Colonel  Sellers  joke.  There  isn't  much  isinglass  In  my 
stove  and  nobody  noticed  it.  I  forgot  it  myself  till  after 
dinner.     There  was  two  hours'  illumination  all  for  noth- 


368  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

ing,  and  an  elegant  wax  candle,  too.  The  joke  came  off, 
you  see,  but  it  was  on  me. 

"  My  present  dog  who  guards  the  school  yard  is  very 
fierce.  He  cultivates  courage  on  a  mixed  diet  of  millet 
and  tin  pan,  as  was  said  of  the  Scotch  that  they  cultivated 
literature  on  a  little  oatmeal.  The  dog  is  getting  uppish 
and  will  not  allow  the  schoolgirls  to  chain  him  up 
through  the  day  as  he  always  has  done.  Only  foreign 
biscuits  have  any  effect  in  inducing  him  to  submit  to  ty- 
ing up. 

**I  have  a  very  funny  new  scholar.  She  is  rather 
simply  clad,  and  would  have  been  more  simply  clad  if 
Huan  Huan  had  not  lent  her  trousers  and  an  upper  gar- 
ment. She  has  no  stockings,  and  her  shoes  have  gaping 
holes,  displaying  toes  untrammelled  by  binding.  Her 
mother  is  dead,  and  no  one  looks  after  her.  Her  father 
was  very  insistent  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague  should 
adopt  her,  saying  if  they  didn't,  he  should  give  her  to  the 
Eoman  Catholics. 

^'I  told  her  at  the  first  that  if  she  were  not  a  good 
scholar,  we  should  send  her  back  home.  Her  face  lit 
with  joy,  and  she  seemed  determined  not  to  be  a  good 
scholar,  so  she  could  go  home.  But  yesterday,  she 
seemed  to  look  more  favorably  on  the  school  when  ar- 
rayed in  her  new  warm  trousers  and  coat,  and  seeing  the 
advantages  of  education  in  getting  food  regularly.'' 

^^  December  4,  1895, 
"  My  dear  appreciative  family,  I  haven't  anything  to 
write  you  this  time.  I  ^  traipse '  from  my  room  to  the 
schoolhouse,  and  from  the  schoolhouse  to  my  room.  I 
give  the  girls  patches  in  a  grudging  manner  and  glue  for 
mending  shoes  more  cheerfully.  I  wound  the  schoolgirls' 
finer  feelings  by  opening  their  wardrobes,  and  throwing 
out  the  heaps  at  the  bottom.     I  find  long  lost  articles. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     359 

thus.  I  try  to  study  by  fits  with  the  teacher,  I  read,  and 
jump  up  to  see  what  the  girls  are  doing,  read  again,  and 
the  girls  come  in  to  recognize  tzu  haoerSj — and  so  wags  the 
day.'' 

^^  January  1,  1896. 
"  I  hope  the  rest  told  you  of  Christmas  Day  and  our 
stockings,  and  how  dear  Mrs.  Sprague  gave  us  each  such 
nice  gifts.  I  gave  the  schoolgirls  pieces  of  calico,  and 
was  so  exercised  by  trying  to  make  them  equally  attrac- 
tive, that  I  was  late  to  Christmas  dinner. '^ 

^^  January  29^  1896. 

*^  These  days  I  don't  get  time  to  write  letters,  since  the 
schoolgirls  are  with  me  so  much.  If  writing  were  like 
thinking,  how  much  easier  it  would  be.  I  think  of  so 
many  letters  when  I  walk,  and  have  the  material  all 
ready,  if  I  could  only  put  it  down.  Some  of  my  friends 
haven't  written  to  me,  and  I  think  they  are  busy  too,  and 
think  out  many  letters  that  don't  get  into  the  mail. 

*^  In  the  December  Century^  the  story  of  the  ^  Brushwood 
Boy '  fascinates  me,  especially  that  map.  I  think  it  must 
be  a  real  experience  of  Mr.  Kipling's, — all  but  finding  the 
girl  who  had  the  same  dream. 

^'  My  two  smallest  girls  are  in  my  room  all  day  outside 
of  study  hours.  They  do  patchwork,  or  write  characters 
or  play.     They  like  to  come. 

*'I  give  out  medicine  all  the  while, — cough  syrup,  cas- 
tor-oil, eye  medicine,  mutton  tallow  for  chapped  hands, 
etc.  Dr.  Waples  gave  me  a  large  quantity  of  all  of  these, 
and  I  am  an  independent  practitioner  now." 

'' April  4j  1896. 
"  Dear  Mary  : 

^^  Such  good  letters  have  come  from  some  of  my 
school  Mends.     They  said  nice  things  about  me,  and  I 


360  BY  THE  GKEAT  WALL 

was  pleased,  but  quite  a  little  ashamed.  As  I  am  in 
China,  they  cannot  be  undeceived.  I  shall  write  back  to 
them  that  they  are  all  wrong,  and  I  am  not  nearly  so  nice 
as  they  think.  Their  answers  will  be  full  of  praise  for 
my  sweet  unconsciousness.  After  all,  it  is  nice  to  have 
the  friends  you  love  clothe  you  with  virtues  you  don't 
possess.  And  it  is  stimulating.  I  shall  be  trying  now  to 
be  as  good  as  they  think  I  am. 

^^Dear  little  sister,  people  used  to  say  that  we  were 
quite  alike.  And  we  are  alike  enough  so  that  I  feel  as 
if  I  understood  how  you  think  about  things  often.  But 
there  are  some  ways  I  don't  want  you  to  be  like  me,  and 
am  glad  you  aren't.  What  I  mean  is  this.  I've  been  too 
reserved  in  showing  my  affection.  I  am  afraid  often  of 
pushing  myself  forward,  when  really,  if  I  were  willing  to 
make  advances,  people  might  have  liked  me  perhaps.  It 
is  partly  because  I  cared  for  books  more  than  anythiug 
else,  and  didn't  find  out  ways  of  getting  near  people  I 
liked.  Then  when  I  first  came  to  America,  and  wanted 
girl  friends,  I  felt  as  if  I  didn't  know  how  to  make  them 
like  me.  At  the  Western,  it  grew  easier,  and  I  had  some 
girl  friends  there.  At  Oberlin,  I  made  some  lasting 
friendships.  But  I  want  you  to  make  more  than  I  did, 
and  that  will  be  good." 

''April  30 J  1896. 
"Lines  to  a  young  gentleman  in  America  who  com- 
plained that  it  strained  his  mind  to  think  back  to  the 
muffins  which  his  sister  wrote  about  in  her  letter  from 
China. 

Hi8  Complaint 
'*  The  muffins  of  two  months  ago 
Came  cold  in  your  letter  to-day. 
My  intellect  tires  in  the  stretch, 
Although  you  cheerfully  say, 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     361 

'  We  had  biscuits  for  tea  last  night, 
Will  have  muflans  for  tea  to-day.* — 
My  motto's  *  Look  forward,  not  back  * 
And  so  I  beg  you  to  write 
What  you'll  have  for  a  meal  in  a  month, 
In  the  morn,  at  noon,  and  at  night. 
And  then  my  mind  will  relax  ! 
Thus,  thus,  do  I  beg  you  to  write. 

Her  Answer 
"  This  is  April.     I  hope  that  in  June 
As  six  strikes,  we'll  sit  down  to  a  spread. 
Plates  filled  with  fried  chicken  on  toast, 
Jam,  apricots,  butter,  and  bread. 
Now  is  this  future  fowl  crisp 
As  you  read  what  I  write  of  the  spread. 
When  the  railroad  is  built  to  this  town, 
Birds'-nest  soup,  sea-slugs,  and  what  more 
Of  dainties  from  North  and  from  South 
Will  quickly  be  brought  to  our  door. 
In  struggling  with  concepts  of  such  far-future  food, 
You  will  sigh,  '  Let  me  look  back  once  more  !' " 

"  Chin  Ke  Ta,  Aug.  27,  1896, 
"  My  Dear  Family  : 

''There  are  a  dozen  women  around  me  gossiping. 
One  just  inquired  after  Miss  Diament,  if  she  were  in 
Peking,  and  was  surprised  when  I  told  them  she  was  dead. 
They  are  telling  me  about  Teacher  Chou^s  second  wife 
with  her  false  feet.  She  has  two  pairs  of  shoes,  the  small 
pair  at  the  bottom,  and  real  shoes  inside,  and  can't  walk 
at  all  or  stand  to  do  her  work. 

"Yesterday  Mrs.  Chao  the  Bible  woman  and  I  went  to 
the  little  mountain  village  of  Yao  Tzu  Chuang.  We 
climbed  the  hill  to  where  Teacher  Chou  Tzu  Pang  lives, 
and  his  wife  gave  us  string  beans  and  oatmeal.  My  lit- 
tle Tsun  Meitzu  can't  come  to  school,  and  she  was  very 
sorry  and  sat  by  me  holding  my  hand  all  afternoon.     The 


362  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

grandmother  of  her  betrothed  doesn't  wish  her  to  go  to 
school,  and  gave  the  father  meal  and  a  roll  of  cloth,  so 
they  won't  let  her  go. 

"There  were  some  sweet  little  children  in  the  yard  at 
Chin  Ke  Ta.  One  fat  little  sunny -faced  Lai  Ditzu  I  kept 
at  my  elbow  two  evenings  to  help  eat  my  supper.  Yu  Fu 
has  a  four  year  old  son  who  is  nearly  blind, — one  eye 
quite  gone  and  one  with  a  film  over  it.  I  petted  him  and 
gave  him  ^  ma-huars '  (Chinese  doughnuts),  and  held  him 
till  he  cried  whenever  I  went  away.  Two  days  I  went 
and  promised  to  come  back,  and  he  waited  for  me  even- 
ings, but  the  third  day  I  started  for  Kalgan.  I  wanted  to 
take  him  with  me  and  have  the  doctor  operate  on  his 
eyes,  but  his  parents  weren't  willing  yet.  I  miss  the  lit- 
tle fellow.  He  used  to  put  both  his  fat  little  arms  around 
my  neck  and  call  me  '  Ma  Goo  Goo '  (for  Ma  Ku  Niang). 

"  He  cried  so  when  I  went  away  !  I  stuffed  his  apron 
pocket  with  ma-huars.  He  grabbed  the  ma-huars  in  his 
right  hand  and  reached  blindly  after  me  with  the  other 
hand.    Poor  dear  little  fellow  ! 

"I'm  ever  so  much  happier  than  I  was  in  America,  or 
a  few  months  since.  I  don't  dare  say  very  much  about  it 
for  fear  of  being  self-confident,  but  I  do  feel  that  sickness 
could  not  change  my  happiness.  I  have  clung  to  the  idea 
that  I  was  a  Christian  before  this,  and  I  still  think  so, 
but  such  a  weak  Christian.  Now  I  don't  think  much 
about  my  faults,  for  I  feel  that  I  am  being  made  into 
something  that  will  be  beautiful  when  God  gets  through 
with  me. 

"  If  I  feel  differently,  I  will  tell  you,  for  it  is  hardly 
honest  to  tell  of  our  ups  and  not  of  our  downs.  Though 
what  difference  would  it  make  how  I  felt  ?  I  would  be  in 
the  process  of  being  made,  whether  I  were  sorrowful  or 
rejoicing.  The  thought  that  God  is  working  on  me 
makes  me  glad  so  many  times,  as  I  freshly  think  of  it." 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     363 

(Mr.  John  E.  Mott  visited  Peking  in  the  fall  of  1896, 
and  with  others  held  a  convention  in  the  interests  of 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.) 

^^  Peking,  Sept.  16,  1896. 

"  I  am  staying  at  home  from  the  convention  to  rest. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague,  Miss  Andrews,  Miss  Hinman  and 
myself  reached  here  Friday.  Saturday  afternoon,  Bishop 
Joyce  preached  and  Dr.  Sheffield  translated.  The  Bishop 
did  so  well, — an  easy,  simple,  inspiring  sermon,  and  Dr. 
Sheffield  translated  so  well,  with  such  ease,  and  even 
imitated  his  gestures,  and  clapped  his  hands  and  hallelu- 
jahed  when  the  Bishop  clapped  his  hands  and  hallelu- 
jahed.  The  Bishop  wiped  his  eyes  with  his  hand  to  rep- 
resent the  grief  of  the  prodigal  son,  and  Dr.  Sheffield 
pulled  out  his  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  eyes.  It  was 
fine.  The  Bishop  would  burst  in  ^  Bless  the  Lord  for  you. 
Dr.  Sheffield,  that^s  just  the  way  I  want  it  said,'  and  he 
was  so  happy  at  Dr.  Sheffield's  fervor  and  freedom  in  de- 
livery that  he  let  off  some  more  ^  hallelujahs '  while  the 
translator  was  speaking. 

**  Sunday,  Mr.  Mott  spoke,  and  Mr.  Owen  translated, — 
wonderfully  well,  but  Mr.  Owen  had  a  harder  time  of  it 
The  talk  Mr.  Mott  had  prepared  for  foreigners,  on  the 
*  Inner  Life '  and  '  degeneration  of  spiritual  faculties,'  and 
he  had  longer  paragraphs  than  the  Bishop.  The  drops 
of  perspiration  stood  on  Mr.  Owen's  brow,  and  he  had 
the  appearance  of  a  struggler.  I  enjoyed  hearing  the 
translating,  and  learn  lots  from  such  things. 

"Sunday  night,  Mr.  Mott  spoke  again  in  the  chapel 
here  about  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s — how  they  had  grown  and  were 
uniting  throughout  the  world, — the  English  and  Scandi- 
navian and  German  associations.  In  India  the  students 
had  formed  a  union  of  several  colleges.  He  hoped 
Chinese  students  would  do  the  same. 

"  I  was  very  glad  to  have  heard  Mr.  Mott.     He  has  a 


364:  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

thoughtful  earnestness,  and  a  kind  of  hammering  power 
in  clinching  his  addresses.  I  hope  I  can  get  all  the  good 
from  his  addresses  on  ^  Bible  Study  for  one's  own  spiritual 
growth '  and  '  Secret  Prayer. '  I  have  failed  in  both  those 
lines.     The  Chinese  were  greatly  impressed  by  him. 

"Dr.  Sheffield  and  Mr.  Gamewell  are  delegates  to 
Shanghai  where  they  wish  to  take  steps  towards  the  for- 
mation of  a  Students'  League  of  Asia,  like  the  associa- 
tions of  other  countries.  The  delegates'  expenses  are 
raised  by  pledges  made  by  the  missionaries  at  the  confer- 
ence." 

^^Kalgan,  Sept.  23d, 

"I  wrote  last  on  the  road  from  Peking.  Monday 
night,  we  reached  a  place  thirty  miles  from  Kalgan. 
Mr.  McKee  wanted  to  get  home  the  next  day,  and  asked 
if  I  didn't  want  to  go.  I  wanted  to  try  my  endurance, 
and  also  to  get  home  sooner,  so  consented.  We  started 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  on  my  horse,  Mr.  McKee 
on  his  pack-mule.  It  was  still  dark  and  we  fell  in  with 
a  camel  train, — strings  and  strings  of  them.  It  was  a 
very  narrow  road,  and  camels  don't  keep  to  one  side 
well,  but  slump  here  to  right  and  there  to  left.  So  we 
got  tangled,  and  couldn't  go  by.  At  one  place  there  was 
a  block,  where  a  train  of  camels  going  south  came  against 
these  camels  going  north.  It  wasn't  fun  for  me  nor  for 
Mr.  McKee.  He  might  have  got  by  quicker,  but  didn't 
dare  leave  me  far  behind,  and  I  was  expecting  a  tea-chest 
to  jam  up  against  me  sooner  or  later.  We  got  past  in  an 
hour,  and  breathed  freely  again.  The  people  here  think 
I  took  a  very  trying  journey,  but  that  was  the  only  part 
that  was  bad." 

"  October  U,  1895, 

"I  have  been  spending  my  afternoons  in  teaching 
school  over  the  bridge.  I  go  on  the  horse.  The  road  is 
most  villainous  and  terrible,  and  when  one  knows  there 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     365 

has  been  no  rain  for  some  weeks,  one  feels  inclined  to 
malign  the  people  who  live  on  the  street  and  throw  all 
the  slops  out.  Sometimes  I  make  the  beast  go  up  a  little 
stone  sidewalk,  quite  narrow,  to  avoid  the  mud.  Once 
the  horse  mashed  my  foot  against  the  wall,  but  the 
donkey,  unlike  Balaam^  s  ass,  is  careful  of  my  life  and 
limb.^^ 

'^January  13  y  1897. 

"The  box  you  sent  from  home  got  here  January  7th. 
Mamma  wants  me  to  thank  you  for  the  nice  things  you 
sent  her.  As  for  me,  I  went  off  proudly  with  my  apron, 
pink  shirt-waist,  ice-wool  shawl,  and  so  many  more 
things,  I  affirm  that  if  I  had  had  another  thing,  I  should 
have  been  too  proud  to  walk,  and  could  only  have 
waddled.  As  for  the  apron,  though  it  might  have  been 
a  little  large  for  me  before, — when  that  box  came,  I 
swelled  so  with  pride  that  the  apron  is,  if  anything,  a 
little  scant.  I  in  future  intend  to  devote  myself  only  to 
those  pages  of  the  Delineator  which  represent  '  Patterns 
for  Elderly  Ladies  of  Stout  Figures.^ 

"  Pm  stupid,  and  can't  think  of  what  to  write.  Papa 
fears  I  shall  defraud  somebody  or  something  by  putting 
less  paper  in  the  letter  than  I'm  entitled  to.  But  some- 
times I  love  to  donate  to  the  government  one  sixteenth  of 
an  ounce  advantage  in  the  way  of  mail.  Far  away  from 
my  glorious  country,  I  can  do  but  little  to  help  her,  but 
may  they  remember  of  me  that  I  sometimes  took  one  six- 
teenth or  one  thirty- second  less  weight  than  my  five  cent 
stamp  entitled  me  to. 

"  Monday,  I  went  to  my  little  school  over  the  bridge, 
and  found  one  scholar,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  gone.  The 
family  was  too  poor  to  keep  her,  so  they  sent  her  to  her 
future  husband's  home.  There  is  no  mother-in-law,  but 
the  sister-in-law's  mother  lives  there,  and  is  possessed  by 
a  fox,  every  one  says,  so  she  can  heal  diseases.    I  am 


366  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

sorry  for  the  girl.  They  all  take  opium  there,  and  the 
sister-in-law  is  a  'smoke-dried  stick,' — their  expression 
for  an  opium  fiend,  when  they  don't  say  *  opium  devil.' 

'^  Mrs.  Yu  Fu  is  pleasant  and  bright,  and  reads  Mark 
with  me.  Last  night  she  told  me  about  her  San  Kaitzu, 
my  sweet  little  girl,  and  bright  scholar.  San  Kaitzu  is 
engaged  into  a  family  where  they  want  bound  feet,  and 
the  family  say  they  will  bind  when  she  is  eighteen,  and 
comes  as  a  bride  into  their  home.     That  will  hurt  so  ! 

"  Tsun  Meitzu,  too  (one  of  last  year's  girls),  can't  come 
to  school  this  year  on  account  of  her  mother-in-law. 
They  wrote  that  she  cried,  and  wanted  to  come  very 
much.  Mamma  yearns  after  her,  and  says,  'I  want 
Tsun  Meitzu.'     .    .     ." 

This  was  the  last  letter  written  before  her  mother's 
death.  Two  weeks  of  anxious  watching  followed,  and  on 
January  twenty -sixth,  the  dear  mother  was  called  home, 
and  Etta  and  her  father  were  left  alone. 

^^  February  12,  1897, 
"  Dear  Mary  : 

'^I  have  been  looking  over  mamma's  things,  and 
the  letters  her  sisters  and  her  children  wrote  her.  She 
took  great  comfort  in  your  letters.  In  her  portfolio  were 
things  she  valued; — one  was  the  letter  Stephen  wrote 
her,  urging  her  to  go  to  Uncle  Eob's  wedding ;  there 
were  flowers,  and  one  rose,  dark  red,  marked  '  Mary's 
rose,  August  3,  1895.' 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  death  more  as  a  reunion 
than  a  separation.  Think  of  Thomas  Hughes  seeing  Dr. 
Arnold  again ;  of  Tennyson  putting  his  arms  about 
Arthur  Hallam,  the  friend  of  his  youth,  dead  years  and 
years  ago ;  of  Eobert  Browning  and  Elizabeth  Brown- 
ing:— 


LETTEKS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     367 

"  '  Then  a  peace  out  of  pain, 
Then  a  light,  then  thy  breast, 
Oh,  thou  Soul  of  my  soul,  I  shall  see  thee  again, 
And  with  God  be  the  rest.' — ^ Frospice.^ 

I  always  loved  that  part  of  ^Tom  Brown'  where  Tom 
goes  back  to  Rugby,  and  sees,  in  the  evening,  the 
doctor's  grave  in  the  chapel. 

^^The  last  week  of  mamma's  life  is  my  sweetest,  dear- 
est remembrance.  If  I  had  no  other  reason  for  believing 
in  a  personal,  loving  God,  I  would  believe  in  Him  be- 
cause I  had  those  last  days  with  her." 

'^  April  2 J  1897. 
'^My  Dear,  Dear  Ones  : 

*'I  cried  more  after  receiving  your  letters  of  Feb- 
ruary 8th  and  15th  than  I  have  since  mamma  died,  but  it 
was  good  for  me  to  cry.  Tears  help  sometimes.  They 
keep  one  from  feeling  dried  up,  and  having  dull  pain 
with  no  outward  sign. 

"I  feel  just  as  you  do  about  the  great  and  joyous 
change  that  has  come  to  mamma,  but  for  my  own  sake, 
it  would  have  been  much  harder  to  bear  her  going  if  I 
had  not  been  with  her  the  last  days.  I  thought  of  you 
and  prayed  for  you  on  those  days,  wondering  when  you 
would  know. '  The  cablegram  took  nine  days  to  Peking. 

^*The  gatekeeper  is  very  low.  They  think  he  can't 
get  well,  and  I  have  a  desire  to  ask  him  to  tell  my  mother 
about  the  letters  you  wrote.  I  wanted  so  much  to  show 
them  to  mamma.  The  pleasant  weather  comes  now,  and 
I  think  if  mamma  could  but  have  lived  till  now,  and 
planted  her  flower  seeds  and  worn  her  pretty  new  dresses. 
It  does  seem  foolish  to  be  talking  about  flower  seeds  and 
such  as  things  to  make  one  wish  mamma  back,  but  I  do 
miss  her. 


368  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

"Every  once  in  a  while  I  feel  surprised  again  to  think 
of  mamma  being  dead.  When  I  was  looking  over  her 
dresses,  I  found  a  pin  stuck  in,  that  she  had  put  in  while 
wearing  it,  just  as  one  does  so  often.  And  now  she  is 
gone.  The  Sunday  before  she  died,  she  was  better  than 
before,  and  so  I  went  and  taught  her  Sunday-school  class 
and  kept  thinking,  '  Now,  perhaps  mamma  will  be  well, 
and  come  to  teach  here  j  I  shall  see  her  sitting  on  the 
kang,  with  her  black  hood  on,  and  all  this  time  of  anx- 
iety will  be  remembered  as  a  bad  dream.  ^ 

"  Now,  sometimes  I  think  just  for  a  moment,  ^  Perhaps 
this  is  a  dream,  and  I'll  wake  up,  and  find  mamma  still 
here  and  sitting  at  her  old  place  at  table.' 

"Sometimes  one  does  dream  long,  long  dreams  where 
years  seem  to  pass  in  trouble. 

"  The  Chinese  think  it  very  strange  that  I  don't  wear 
mourning  for  mamma.  I  told  them  it  was  very  hard  to 
make  foreign  dresses,  and  that  we  wore  black  for  mourn- 
ing instead  of  white,  as  they  do. 

"I  have  sixteen  now  in  the  Girls'  School,  and  twelve 
have  natural  feet.  I  help  several  on  their  clothing,  and 
some  I  clothe  entirely.  Those  that  I  help  I  try  to  use  up 
old  clothes  on  for  economy.  I  alter  old  basques,  putting 
in  pieces  of  goods  where  the  darts  were  cut,  so  as  to 
make  it  hang  straight.  You  may  think  it  looks  funny, 
but  it's  a  great  improvement  on  giving  them  the  old 
basques  as  they  are.  The  Chinese  girls  do  look  so 
wretchedly  awkward  in  basques,  and  they  are  too  short 
besides,  so  I  put  a  piece  on  at  the  bottom  after  piecing 
up  the  sides.  The  Chinese  women,  who  are  very  saving, 
say,  '  Well,  your  skirts  are  good  to  make  over  into  clothes, 
but  those  short  upper  gowns  you  wear  are  so  cut  up  with 
slits,  they  are  very  little  use.' 

"I  am  preparing  for  my  last  year's  examination  in 
Chinese  at  Tung  Chou.     After  this,  though  I'm  expected 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     369 

to  study  Chinese  still,  I  am  not  to  be  examined,  or  re- 
quired to  follow  a  particular  course  of  study. 

"We  have  had  such  an  interesting  lecture  from  Sven 
Hedin,  a  famous  Swedish  explorer  of  Central  Asia,  who 
stopped  here  on  his  way  to  Peking.  He  discovered  a 
city  buried  for  ages  in  the  sand,  and  manuscripts  written 
in  unknown  characters.  He  spoke,  and  Mr.  Sprague 
translated,  so  the  Chinese  could  get  the  good  of  his  story. 
They  were  most  interested  in  hearing  about  the  felt  roads. 
He  had  to  put  felt  over  the  snow  so  that  the  horses  could 
travel.  If  a  horse  slipped  from  the  felt,  it  sank  into  the 
moist  snow  and  had  to  be  dug  out.  Of  course  progres- 
sion was  very  slow.  Then  when  he  told  about  the  days 
he  lived  on  grass,  and  the  days  he  went  without  water, — 
that  was  thrilling  !  My  curiosity  is  satisfied  on  one  point. 
The  boots  in  his  story,  with  which  he  carried  water  to 
his  dying  servant,  are  the  identical  ones  he  wears  now  ! 
They  must  have  been  very  good  boots  to  last  so  long. 
The  shop  where  he  bought  them  will  have  an  advertise- 
ment 

^^KalgaUj  April  21,  1897, 
"  I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  letter  I  have  written  to  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Societies  of  Iowa,  who  contribute 
towards  my  support.  I  just  wrote  them  about  my  school, 
and  every-day  happenings.  An  old  inhabitant  like  me 
gets  so  used  to  the  natives,  that  he  can^t  do  any  tall 
writing  about  their  enormities. 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  about  my  little  day  school  in  the 
garden  suburb  of  Kalgan,  and  then  about  one  girl  who 
was  in  that  day  school,  but  is  now  in  my  boarding  school. 
This  little  day  school  I  taught  myself  for  the  main  part, 
and  rode  on  an  animal  or  in  a  cart.  When  I  rode  the 
horse  I  attracted  much  attention,  and,  of  course,  heard 
'foreign  devil'  many  times  along  the  road.     Lately  I 


370  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

have  been  wearing  the  Chinese  costume  to  be  less  notice- 
able, but  heard,  ^  A  foreigner  our  clothes  !  Our  clothes  ! 
Not  bad ! '  referring  to  my  clothes.  *  Looks  very  well  if 
she  didn't  wear  that  wash-basin  on  her  head,'  referring 
to  my  sailor  hat,  which  is  the  shape  of  a  Chinese  wash- 
basin. When  one  is  costumed  as  a  Chinese  woman,  one 
ought  not  to  wear  anything  on  the  head  except  cloth,  or 
a  strip  of  ribbon,  but  a  hat  is  rather  a  necessity  to  me. 

**Eiding  in  a  cart  is,  of  course,  less  annoying  but 
much  more  painful  and  tiresome.     Sometimes  I  thought, 

*  I'll  go  in  the  cart  to-day  and  not  be  reviled,'  but  after 
some  astonishing  bounds  of  the  cart,  which,  perhaps, 
knocked  my  head  against  the  side,  I  would  say  to  myself, 

*  Better  be  called  names  and  hear  your  hat  called  a  wash- 
basin than  hurt  your  head  with  these  jars.' 

*  ^  I  must  say  that  along  the  dwelling  houses  I  am  usually 
greeted  politely  by  the  children  and  others  who  know  my 
name.  In  the  market  streets  by  the  shops  I  hear  the 
most  reviling. 

*^The  house  in  which  I  have  my  schoolroom  has  a 
beautiful,  very  large  grape-vine  in  the  yard.  At  the  side 
are  grown  tomatoes  and  other  foreign  vegetables,  beside 
the  usual  Chinese  vegetables. 

"Among  the  scholars  I  had  was  a  large  girl  whose 
accent  was  different  from  the  Kalgan  variety.  Her  family 
came  from  the  south  of  the  Great  Wall,  were  very  poor 
and  so  betrothed  this  girl  as  soon  as  they  came  to  Kalgan 
for  the  money  they  needed.  Afterwards  they  found  out 
that  the  family  were  opium-smokers.  An  engagement  is 
a  very  sacred  thing  in  China,  so  the  poor  girl  must  go 
into  that  family  no  matter  how  bad  they  were. 

"One  day  when  she  recited  I  saw  tears  in  her  eyes. 
The  next  day  I  went  to  teach  she  didn't  come.  They 
said,  '  She  has  gone  into  the  family  of  her  betrothed. 
She  is  not  married  yet,  but  they  wanted  some  one  to  wait 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     371 

on  them  and  lier  father  and  mother  didn't  have  enough 
to  feed  her  and  the  other  children  too.' 

*^  ^What  kind  of  people  are  these?'  I  asked.  *Do 
they  all  smoke  opium  ? ' 

"  ^  Yes.  There  are  two  brothers.  The  older  one  has  a 
wife  about  forty  years  old.  The  younger  is  the  one  to 
whom  the  girl  is  engaged.  The  brother's  wife  has  a 
mother,  an  exorciser  of  evil  spirits,  who  lives  with  them. 
They  all  smoke  opium.' 

**  A  month  passed.  I  could  not  do  anything,  but  I 
thought  of  the  poor  girl,  and  hoped  what  she  had  learned 
in  school  would  comfort  her  and  save  her  soul. 

"  I  saw  her  about  Chinese  New  Year's.  She  had  come 
home  for  a  few  days.  She  looked  very  sallow  and  beaten 
down,  not  as  she  did  before  when  she  led  my  horse  and 
held  him  for  me  to  mount.  I  had  admired  the  life  and 
vigor  I  saw  in  her,  but  now  pale,  dispirited,  in  wretched 
clothes,  and  her  head  bound  about  in  a  faded  black  rag 
— I  hardly  knew  her. 

"  She  seemed  glad  to  see  me.  I  heard  them  say,  ^  Her 
sister-in-law  and  the  rest  treat  her  badly.  They  make 
her  stand  on  the  cold  floor  till  midnight  to  hand  them 
their  opium  pipes  and  fill  and  refill  them,  while  they  are 
upon  the  warm  kang.'  (A  kang  in  winter  is  usually  the 
only  place  one  can  keep  warm  on  in  a  Chinese  house.) 
They,  being  opium-smokers,  need  very  little  food  or 
sleep,  and  they  wanted  her  to  eat  as  little  as  they  did. 

^^  The  next  time  I  came  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jen  and  I  had  a 
consultation.  (Mr.  Je^  is  the  owner  of  the  house  where 
the  school  is.  The  name  is  pronounced  like  our  English 
*run.') 

^^The  father  and  mother  were  called  in  and  I  said, 
*  You  ought  to  break  this  engagement  for  your  daughter's 
sake.'  I  had  previously  placed  the  amount  of  the  be- 
trothal money  in  Mrs.  Jen's  hands,  so  that  it  might  be 


372  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

given  to  the  opium-smoking  family,  if  they  agreed  to 
release  the  girl.  The  father  and  mother  were  much 
frightened.  ^  We  promised  to  send  her  back  yesterday, 
but  she  wouldn't  go,  and  they  came  for  her  to-day,  and 
we  said,  ^'She  shall  go  to  you  this  afternoon."  ^     I  said, 

*  Don' t  send  her.  Let  me  take  her  back  to  my  home  in  the 
cart  and  tell  them  you  don't  want  her  to  go  back  to  them.' 

"  So  I  smuggled  the  girl  in  the  back  of  the  cart  and  we 
went  home  and  she  went  to  the  Girls'  School  house.  This 
was  Saturday.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  her  father  came 
to  meeting  and  told  her  to  go  back.  I  pleaded  with 
them  and  told  them  to  brace  up  and  not  be  afraid,  but  he 
rolled  with  anguish  on  the  brick  walk  and  sobbed  out, 

*  I  am  a  poor  man,  a  poor  man,  and  dare  not  let  her  stay 
here.' 

"  *  Wait  till  Monday  and  she  shall  go  in  the  cart.'  He 
went.  About  two  o'clock  that  afternoon  he  appeared 
again  with  Mr.  Jen  to  say  that  the  husband  had  hired  a 
cart  and  that  the  girl  must  go  now.  I  still  pleaded  for 
another  day,  and  went  to  talk  with  the  betrothed  hus- 
band. He  made  me  sick  to  look  at  him  or  speak  to  him, 
but  I  begged  for  one  day  more.  He  said,  ^  I  want  my 
wife.  I  have  been  told  several  days  now,  to-morrow,  to- 
morrow she  will  come,  and  I  don't  wish  to  be  put  off  any 
more.'  I  got  the  school-teacher  to  talk  to  him.  The 
school-teacher  first  shamed  him  by  asking  to  see  his 
hands.  When  he  concealed  the  right  one  in  his  sleeve 
the  teacher  insisted,  and  then  said,  ^Ah!  you  take 
opium,  don't  you  ?  I  can  see  the  marks  on  your  nails.' 
Then  the  teacher  asked  him,  *  Are  you  married  to  this 
girl  t  She  is  too  large  a  girl  to  be  in  your  house  unmar- 
ried.' He  said,  *  No,'  he  hadn't  married  her  yet.  Then 
the  teacher  fairly  dizzied  him  with  a  stream  of  eloquence 
proving  that  Confucius  and  Mencius  and  the  ancient 
sages  all  would  have  let  the  girl  stay  till  Monday. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     373 

"I  went  to  say  something  to  the  girl  which  should 
help  her,  but  I  found  great  difficulty  in  beginning.  She 
was  sobbing,  and  I  took  her  to  my  room  and  held  her 
hand  and  cried  with  her  till  I  thought  in  distress,  *  The 
time  is  going  and  I  may  never  see  her  again  or  any 
Christian  have  access  to  her.  But  what  can  I  say  ?  ^  At 
last  I  told  her  that  where  she  was  going  Satan  would  be 
near  all  the  time  to  tempt  her.  I  couldn't  go  with  her  to 
help  her,  but  God  could  and  would  help  her.  ^  You  must 
pray  every  day,  O  God  !  help  me  to  be  good  1  Oh,  God  ! 
take  care  of  me,  save  me !  They  won't  let  you  be  by 
yourself,  but  you  can  pray  these  words  to  God  in  your 
heart.  And  you  must  never  try  to  kill  yourself.'  The 
girl  said  she  wouldn't.  Before  she  had  said  to  some  one 
that  they  treated  her  so  badly  she  would  take  some  of 
their  opium  and  end  her  troubles. 

^^The  next  day  I  sent  her  away  in  the  cart.  Her 
father  came  to  escort  her.  I  remember  the  feeling  I  had 
as  of  parting  with  some  one  about  to  die.  I  said,  '  Don't 
forget  to  caU  on  God.  I  can't  do  anything  for  you,  bub 
God  can  deliver  you.'     I  never  expected  to  see  her  again. 

"  The  next  Saturday  after  breakfast  Mr.  Jen  came  very 
frightened,  saying,  *  That  girl  has  run  away  and  we  hid 
her  in  our  house.  But  the  people  will  be  there  to  find 
her.  Can't  you  take  the  doctor's  cart  and  send  her  to 
Peking  ? '  I  inquired  the  particulars,  which  were  as  fol- 
lows :  The  girl  had  been  treated  worse  than  before  after 
coming  back,  and  Friday  overheard  her  sister-in-law 
saying,  '  She  had  better  be  married  at  once  ;  then  if  we 
beat  her  to  death  the  father  can't  say  much,  l^ow  she 
isn't  married  and  we  can't  punish  her  to  the  utmost.' 
The  girl  thought  it  her  last  chance  to  escape,  so  very 
early  the  next  morning  she  left  the  house  and  crossed  the 
river  on  the  ice  to  Mr.  Jen's  house.  Now  I  have  named 
the  girl  Eliza,  after  Mrs.  Stowe's  Eliza,  who  crossed  the 


374  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Ohio  on  the  ice.  Mr.  Jen  put  a  sheepskin  coat  over 
the  girl,  who  was  in  a  little  outhouse,  and  locked  the 
door.  The  pursuers  of  the  fugitive  thought  Eliza  was 
with  me.  Men  came  all  day  to  the  gate-house  threaten- 
ing trouble  and  breaking  down  the  walls  if  the  girl  was 
not  given  up.  The  gatekeeper  and  my  cook  each  solemnly 
inquired  if  I  had  the  girl  in  hiding,  and  said,  '  You  had 
better  give  her  up,  or  Christianity  will  lose  in  repute  and 
there  will  be  trouble.^ 

"  Mr.  Jen  denied  that  the  girl  was  in  his  yard,  and 
didn't  allow  any  one  to  search  the  place.  Men  were 
hanging  about  all  day,  trying  to  find  out,  but  didn't  dare 
enter  the  yard. 

"Sunday  morning  Eliza's  father  took  the  betrothal 
money  which  I  gave  him  back  to  these  people.  They,  in 
despair  of  recovering  their  strayed  property,  and  of  the 
opinion  I  had  dispatched  said  property  away  from  Kal- 
gan,  were  glad  to  settle  amicably  and  get  the  money  with- 
out a  law-suit. 

"  Now  Eliza  is  in  school.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  see 
her  bright  and  smiling  in  the  new  clothes  I  have  given 
her,  studying  and  working  with  a  will.  She  is  naturally 
the  opposite  of  a  quiet,  neat  girl,  but  has  tried  very  hard 
to  speak  softly  and  not  dispute  with  the  others  and  do 
her  very  best  to  please  God  and  please  me. 

"I  was  asked  to  say  something  of  the  needs  of  the 
work.  We  need  another  lady  very  much  indeed.  Last 
fall  I  would  have  told  you  *  A  pocket  folding  companion ' 
— ^in  other  words,  a  Bible  woman  who  could  be  put  in  my 
saddle-bags.  To  state  this  more  soberly,  I  would  say,  a 
Bible  woman  who  could  ride  a  donkey  without  much  pain 
afterwards.  Carts  nearly  kill  me,  but  my  Bible  woman 
took  a  long  time  to  recover  from  a  short  trip  on  a  donkey's 
vback. 

"I  hope  those  of  you  who  read  the  Mizpah  Calendar 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     375 

have  remembered  me  and  the  school  at  our  appointed 
times.  This  year  I  have  appreciated  the  Calendar  more 
than  usual.  Since  I  lost  my  mother  last  January,  so 
many  of  the  quotations  in  the  Calendar  seem  weighted 
with  a  message  for  me.  I  do  not  speak  of  my  own  per- 
sonal loss  here,  but  of  the  great  loss  our  work  here  has 
sustained  in  my  mother's  departure. 

*^  God  has  kept  me  well  and  peaceful  all  this  time. 

*^Pray  for  China. 

^^  Your  friend  and  missionary, 

*^  Henrietta  B.  Williams.^' 

'^  April  27,  1897. 
"I  don't  feel  much  of  a  missionary  these  days,  working 
round  with  my  sewing  women.  The  children  needed 
clothes.  I  have  fixed  basques  with  insertions  for  little 
Jade  Ring,  and  her  sister  *Next-a-son,'  and  my  old 
skirts  and  a  wrapper  made  good  gowns  for  San  Ya 
T'ou  and  two  others.  Mamma's  beggar  woman  Hsin 
"Wu  does  sewing  for  me  sometimes.  She  is  a  very 
poor  sewer,  and  it's  hard  to  find  work  poor  enough 
for  her  to  do.  There  are  a  lot  of  old  shoes  around 
and  I  cut  them  up  for  patches  and  have  her  patch  the 
toes  of  the  girls'  old  cloth  shoes.  There  was  one  pair  of 
button  shoes,  which  were  good  except  for  ripped  side 
seams.  Hsin  Wu  sewed  them  up,  and  one  rainy  day  I 
told  Lao-ku-tzu  to  wear  them.  She  gasped,  but  obeyed. 
I  could  see  how  muddy  her  stockings  were  from  the  holes 
in  the  toes  of  the  Chinese  shoes.  She  looked  so  ridiculous 
the  next  day  with  those  button  shoes  put  on  wrong,  but- 
tons on  inside  of  her  leg.  I  took  them  away  from  her, 
but  bring  them  out  every  rainy  day.  I  am  keeping  the 
child  on  old  shoes  now  as  an  awful  warning  to  the  rest. 
^  See  what  you  must  wear  if  you  spoil  your  shoes  too 
soon!'" 


376  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^''  Later, 
"  I  just  took  down  ^  Mary^s  Meadow  ^  by  Mrs.  Ewing 
to  find  that  poem  of  George  Herbert's, — 

** '  Who  would  have  thought  my  shrivelled  heart 
Would  have  recovered  greenness,' 

it  commences.  It  is  quaint  and  yet  I  like  it  so  much.  It 
expresses  something  I  have  felt  often,  the  longing  to  be 
put  past  the  fear  of  falling, — not  the  fear,  but  the  falling. 
Some  things  touch  me  and  seem  to  water  my  heart,  which 
was  all  shrivelled, — and  then  I  shrivel  up  again.  Pray- 
ers don't  usually  do  me  the  good  they  should,  but  some 
people's  prayers  do  refresh  me  like  a  shower. 

"One  of  my  friends  wrote  such  a  lovely  letter  after 
hearing  about  mamma's  death.  She  spoke  of  the  com- 
monplace things  that  help, — simple  every- day  comfort  of 
spring  naturally  following  winter  (it  must  follow), — 
life,  the  real  thing  which  persists  through  all.  Her  idea 
is  something  like  Herbert's  when  he  speaks  of  the  flowers 
keeping  house  down  beneath  everything  in  the  quiet. 

"Well, 

**  *  Heart's  loves  remain, 

Heart's  love  shall  meet  thee  again.'  " 

^^  At  Mission  Meeting j  Tung  ChoUj  May  29 j  1897, 
"  I  wish  you  could  be  here  and  see  all  the  new  people 
and  babies  and  nice  children. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horace  Pitkin  are  sitting  against  the 
glass  bookcase,  taking  in  new  things  and  us  old  mission- 
aries. They  are  both  fine  looking.  Mr.  Pitkin  is  tall 
with  blue  eyes  and  dark  hair  parted  nearly  in  the  middle. 
Mrs.  Pitkin  looks  very  young,  and  has  pretty  curly  hair. 
Papa  knew  her  father  in  school  at  Miami.  We  were  a 
little  afraid  that  they  might  not  be  happy  here,  but  they 
seem  deeply  spiritual,  and  very  much  in  earnest. 

"  Mr.  Atwater  is  here  from  Shansi,  dressed  in  Chinese 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     377 

costume.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Porter  are  here  with  two  fair- 
haired  boys,  Jamie  and  Chappell.  Dr.  Ingram's  baby 
Esther  is  rosy  and  beautiful,  and  Luther  Goodrich  is 
growing  a  fine  boy.  Euth  Ingram  and  Gracie  Goodrich 
have  their  hair  done  each  in  two  cunning  little  tails." 

^^  June  23d, 
"I  am  back  at  Kalgan.    The  days  are  lovely  now. 

Lovely  summer  weather  makes  me  think  of  friends  far 

away,  and  of  my  sisters. 

**  Cousin   Marjorie   wrote   her    opinion    of  Matthew 

Arnold  as  a  fine  critic  but  inferior  poet.     I  can't  agree 

there.     Nothing  sounds  so  like  summer  to  me  as  : 

**  *  Soon  will  the  high  midsummer  pomp  come  on, 
Soon  will  the  musk  carnations  break  and  swell, 
Soon  shall  we  have  gold  dusted  snapdragon, 
Sweet  William  with  his  homely  cottage  smell. 
****** 

"  '  Roses  that  down  the  alley  shine  afar 
And  open  jasmine,  muffled  lattices, 
And  groups  under  the  dreaming  garden  trees, 
And  the  full  moon  and  the  white  evening  star. ' 

**If  you  read  ^Thyrsis'  from  which  this  comes,  and 
*  The  Scholar  Gypsy,'  you  will  care  for  his  poetry. 

"Soon  my  pinks  will  be  bursting  forth,  my  snapdragons 
are  already  showing  finely,  my  glory  flowers  are  just 
about  to  bud,  and  every  blessed  geranium  is  blazing  with 
bloom.  I  wanted  them  to  bloom  in  winter,  but  the  trifling 
things  put  it  all  off  till  summer  when  there  is  plenty  be- 
sides. My  sweet  alyssum  makes  a  nice  white  spot,  and 
is  fragrant.     So  are  the  mignonettes. 

"  I  felt  as  if  I  had  no  heart  to  plant  flowers  this  year, 
but  now  I  am  glad  I  did.  Do  you  remember  how  mamma 
said,  ^  We  are  going  to  have  a  very  pretty  garden  next 


378  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

summer^  f  We  have,  and  it  almost  seems  as  if  she  were 
helping  the  garden  grow  so  wonderfully.  Every  one  says, 
*  Yours  is  the  prettiest  garden  of  all.'  I  wish  mamma 
could  see  it.  It  isn't  painful  to  think  of  her  now,  but  one 
will  regret,  no  matter  how  happy  the  one  who  is  gone  is 
in  her  ^mansion.' 

^*  ^  The  day  of  our  birth,  and  the  day  of  our  death, — I 
see  them  as  two  great  gates.  There  is  a  small  court  be- 
tween them,  where  some  of  us  play  j  we  make  our  little 
mud  pies,  and  hoard  up  our  little  treasures,  pieces  of 
bright  china  and  glass  that  we  cut  our  fingers  on.  Some 
of  us  make  playhouses  for  others  who  are  to  come ;  some 
clear  away  the  mud,  that  others  may  walk  better  across 
the  court.  We  all  look  occasionally  to  the  second  gate, 
the  Gate  of  Death.  Some  put  their  hands  over  their  eyes, 
and  will  not  see  it,  but  go  back  to  look  for  some  more 
broken  pieces  of  bright  china.  Some  declare  they  can 
see  wonderful  things  of  the  land  beyond,  when  the  Gate 
is  opened  for  others  to  pass  through. 

"  ^  I  myself,  as  a  child,  was  filled  with  a  great  curiosity 
to  see  outside  of  human  life.  I  do  not  know  how  I 
should  feel,  face  to  face  with  Death,  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  I  should  not  be  afraid,  but  should  wait  for  the  Gate 
of  Death  to  be  unlocked  with  a  longing  desire  to  see  what 
manner  of  land  should  be  beyond.' 

**I  wrote  this  in  my  journal,  long  ago.  The  other 
day,  I  read  in  the  *  Daily  Light '  for  the  evening,  *■  I 
trust  I  shall  shortly  see  Thee,  and  we  shall  speak  face  to 
face.'  And,  ^  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living 
God,  when  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God? ' 

"  I  never  was  so  impressed  before  with  that  verse.  It 
is  taken  out  of  its  connection  to  signify  meeting  with  God, 
but  it  is  wonderful.  How  wonderful  it  would  be  to  see 
God  soon,  and  speak  face  to  face  with  our  Lord  Jesus. 

"  Prom  impressions  that  have  come  to  me  while  read- 


LETTEKS  OF  HENEIETTA  WILLIAMS     379 

ing  my  Bible  lately,  I  have  more  belief  than  I  used  to  in 
the  Lord  Jesus'  coming.  It  is  so  much  more  restful  to 
think  of  that  than  death.  Death  will  bring  us  to  the 
Lord's  presence  too,  if  He  does  not  come  before  that.  I 
want  Him  to  come,  yet  I  pray  that  He  may  abide  in  me. 
It  would  be  so  good  to  see  Him.  I  long  daily  that  He 
will  come,  and  settle  everything. 

^*  Sometimes  I  think  that  I  am  not  half  enough  in  ear- 
nest. If  I  believed  with  all  my  heart,  I  should  be  speak- 
ing all  the  time  to  people,  begging  them  to  love  Jesus 
soon, — now. 

"My  dear  sisters,  I  am  missing  all  the  good  of  being 
with  you,  and  knowing  your  little  ways  and  bits  of  fun,  and 
sweetnesses  and  new  dresses, — the  little  every- day nesses. 
Do  you  remember  ^  Peter  Ibbetson '  ?  Peter  could  dream 
;,  over  and  over  his  former  days,  and  carry  his  friends  with 
!  him  into  his  own  past,  by  holding  them  by  the  hand  and 
leading  them  into  his  dreamland.  They  could  lead  him 
into  their  past  experiences  too.  That's  what  I'd  like  you 
to  do  for  me." 

^^  September  24.,  1897, 

"I  am  keeping  a  bit  of  *tipsina'  (like  wild  turnip), 
which  the  Indians  like.  It  reminds  me  of  Santee,  and  of 
the  times  I  had  wandering  over  the  hills  hunting  tipsina 
with  the  little  Birds'  'Nest  girls.  It  is  *  Auld  Lang  Syne ' 
to  me,  though  my  top  drawer  gets  disorderly,  and  I  fear 
the  tipsina  is  a  nucleus  of  disorder,  as  the  Jollycumpop, 
and  the  Prince  and  others  were  a  nucleus  for  a  city  in 
Frank  Stockton's  story  of  ^  Prince  Hassak.'  Do  you  re- 
member Pleasance  in  ^What  She  Came  Through,'  who 
named  her  bureau  drawers  Eupatoria  and  Balaclava  be- 
cause they  were  so  much  like  the  Crimean  battle-fields, — 
torn  up,  rent  and  devastated  ? 

"  It's  curious  how  putting  one's  things  in  order  seems  to 
get  one's  brain  and  soul  in  tune. 


380  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

^^  The  other  day  I  couldn't  find  my  bank  bills,  and  was 
so  afraid  some  one  had  taken  the  envelope.  I  thought  of 
Eliza's  mother  who  is  in  here  Sundays.  Then  I  looked 
again  very  carefully  and  found  it  in  another  place  where 
I  had  put  it  myself.  I  was  so  glad.  It  is  so  hard  and 
withering  to  one's  soul  to  suspect  people.  I  am  always 
glad,  even  at  finding  trifles.  It  seems  to  symbolize  some- 
thing deeper.  The  woman  who  hunts  for  her  lost  piece 
of  silver  reminds  one  of  the  lost  son  who  repented  and 
came  back.  I'm  thinking  now  of  Jen  Te  Ming,  and  hope 
that  the  sin  and  attendant  humiliation  will  make  him  re- 
pent all  over.  Thorough  repentance, — what  can  it  be  ? 
I  don't  think  I  have  ever  repented  in  such  a  way,  but  I 
dimly  imagine  it  to  be  a  breaking  up  of  everything, — a 
wrenching  apart  of  the  tenderest  places, — and  then  ? — 
then,  I  don't  know  what  to  say,  except  that  it  must  be 
like  death,  harder  than  some  deaths,  and  then  life  again 
as  a  different  person. 

*^I  have  just  been  giving  Teacher  Lo  some  money  for  a 
poor  teacher,  a  church-member  who  has  come  to  Kalgan 
to  see  after  his  sick  son.  I  thought  about  my  brother, 
supposing  he  were  sick  and  penniless,  how  glad  I  should 
be  to  have  some  one  slip  a  $50  bank  note  into  his  hand. 
Mine  wasn't  $50,  but  three  tiao  which  I  slipped  into  Lo's 
hand.  However  one  can  feel  beneficent  and  inwardly  ex- 
panded over  giving  a  much  less  sum  in  China  than  in 
America." 

"  October  21, 1897, 

"  I'm  just  back  from  a  tour  of  sixteen  days,  which  I 
enjoyed,  though  the  days  were  pretty  cold.  Outdoor  life 
is  good  for  me,  and  having  a  horse  makes  it  easier.  Mrs. 
Peng  welcomed  me  at  Shui  Ch'uan  and  made  me  feel  at 
home.  She  is  a  nice  woman  and  foreign  in  her  ideal  of 
cleanliness.  I  heard  her  six  scholars  recite,  very  well  for 
three  days'  study.    She  hopes  to  keep  this  little  school  so 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     381 

that  she  can  stay  at  home  and  yet  be  doing  mission  work. 
The  next  day,  I  started  for  Chin  Ke  Ta.  As  we  went 
up  a  steep  hill,  a  bridal  procession  followed  us,  mu- 
sicians in  high  red  felt  hats  and  the  red  sedan  chair  in 
which  the  bride  was  shivering,  carried  by  panting  men, 
who  often  put  the  chair  down  to  rest.  I  was  pleased.  I 
like  a  little  excitement  on  the  road,  and  whether  it  is 
bridal  processions  or  soldiers  riding  to  capture  thieves,  I 
greet  them  cheerfully. 

"Crossing  the  river,  the  water  was  almost  over  my 
stirrup  irons.  It  got  dark,  and  we  were  still  five  miles 
away.  I  made  my  horse  run  through  two  miles  of  coun- 
try road  with  houses  scattered  near  more  or  less,  but  the 
last  part  of  the  journey  it  was  very  dark,  and  the  horse 
was  tired,  and  looked  suspiciously  at  everything.  As  we 
went  through  the  fields,  I  thought  of  wolves,  and  remem- 
bered the  girl  at  Yu  Chou  whose  grandmother  was  eaten 
by  a  wolf  when  she  was  working  in  the  fields.  The  other 
women  fled  for  their  lives,  and  when  men  ran  with  hoes 
and  pitchforks  there  was  nothing  left  but  a  foot  and  some 
bones.  They  got  a  big  coffin  and  buried  the  foot  and 
leg  bones  with  all  the  usual  ceremonies. 

"The  Chinese  villagers  don't  dare  go  out  at  night  for 
fear  of  thieves  and  wolves.  Thieves  would  not  dare  to 
attack  a  foreigner,  but  wolves  might  not  have  known 
enough  to  let  me  alone.  I  was  glad  finally  to  ride  through 
a  lighted  village,  past  the  theatre  where  small  boys  and 
others  with  lanterns  sat  ready  to  enjoy  an  evening  per- 
formance.    I  had  reached  Chin  Ke  Ta. 

"I  only  stayed  a  day  there,  for  the  church-members 
were  worked  up  over  a  law-suit  in  one  of  the  Christian 
families.  I  stayed  at  the  inn.  As  I  rode  into  the  yard 
the  inn  children  shrieked,  ^There's  a  foreign  devil 
come  ! '  I  turned  to  the  carter  and  said,  ^  We  won't  stay 
here.    They  reviled  me.'     'Who?'     ^ Children.^     ^Oh, 


382  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

children  don^t  know  what  they  say.'  The  innkeeper 
also  said,  *Oh,  children  don't  know  what's  right.'  I 
said,  *I'm  not  scolding  them  so  much  as  you  older 
people.     You  ought  to  teach  them  better.' 

"It  was  so  cold  at  Chiu  Huai  An  the  next  day,  and 
we  had  a  cold  room  there.  By  this  time  I  had  two  little 
girls  under  my  wing  to  take  back  to  school.  I  was 
really  afraid  they  would  be  sick  as  they  are  used  to 
warm  kangs.  I  shared  one  of  my  quilts  with  them  and 
hadn't  enough  to  keep  warm  myself.  The  children 
woke  crying  often,  and  we  hadn't  much  sleep.  If  the 
carter  hadn't  been  kind  enough  to  give  one  child  a  quilt 
which  he  was  bringing  to  some  one,  we  could  hardly  have 
managed.  The  children  were  so  good,  I  was  glad  to  care 
for  them  and  felt  better  than  I  should  have  done  alone. 

^  ^  I  have  come  back  with  my  head  full  of  gossip  about 
this  one's  ^Hsi  fur'  (bride),  and  that  one's  mother-in- 
law.    You  will  be  tired  of  reading  this." 

^'December  6,  1897, 
"My  California  boxes  came  Monday,  and  I  danced  for 
pure  joy  quietly  in  my  room  in  the  evening,  and  gloated 
over  the  good  things  I  could  give  the  people  for  Christ- 
mas dinner.  They  are  invited  over  to  our  house  this 
year. 

"There  is  only  one  thing  I  really  long  after  now. 
You  couldn't  guess, — a  gramophone.  It  would  be  so 
useful  to  entertain  Chinese  visitors  and  the  school  chil- 
dren at  New  Year's  and  holidays  when  I  entertain  them. 
I  wish  Stephen  would  look  up  prices  for  me,  and  see 
if  it's  something  really  good.  My  other  wish  you'd 
laugh  over, — a  telephone  to  connect  my  room  and  the 
schoolroom,  so  as  to  save  my  running  over  there,  and 
keep  the  girls  from  running  to  my  room.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  enlighten  the  Chinese  on  telephones,  beside. 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     383 

'*  The  girls  are  busy  making  paper  dolls.  I  have  torn 
off  the  white  covers  on  Western  Oxfords  and  the  green 
covers  of  Mission  Reports,  and  purple  covers  on  other 
things,  till  I  vowed  I  wouldn't  give  them  another  thing 
for  doll  dresses. 

*^It  is  lovely  of  ^you-alls'  to  think  of  getting  a  box 
ready  to  send  me.  I  could  use  a  lot  of  scrap  pictures, 
advertisements  and  other  such, — flowers  and  pictures  of 
children  preferred.  The  children  learn  to  read  texts 
printed  on  cards  like  that.  Dolls  are  very  nice  to  send, 
even  if  they  are  blondes.  Perhaps  I  can  educate  them  to 
like  blondes.  What  do  you  think  of  my  success  it  I  at- 
tempt r' 

^^  December  2S,  1897, 
^^  My  Dear  Sisters  : 

^'I  have  decided  to  make  a  reputation  for  myself 
talking  about  a  novel  that  I  never  need  write.  I  read  of 
a  Frenchman  who  owed  his  reputation  to  an  essay  on  ^  The 
Inconvenience  of  Conveniences,'  which  he  only  talked 
about.  The  novel  that  I  am  going  to  talk  about  writing 
shall  have  a  heroine  who  has  had  no  advantages  of  books 
or  teachers,  but  learns  the  modern  languages  by  studying 
the  patent  medicine  wrappers  and  tin  cans.  She  can 
write  ^Do  not  take  spurious  imitations'  in  Polish, 
Swedish,  German,  French,  Spanish  and  Portuguese.  I 
got  this  idea  as  I  gazed  at  my  Anglo-Swiss  Milkmaid 
Brand  of  condensed  milk,  which  has  Chinese  and 
Japanese  directions  as  well  as  the  others. 

*^  The  other  morning  near  breakfast  time,  I  felt  a  wild 
desire  for  luxury.  I  could  only  think  of  using  some  ex- 
pensive soap,  so  I  charged  into  the  bedroom  for  Pears 
glycerine  tar,  but  found  nothing  but  Frank  Siddall's. 
The  Pears  Soap  was  all  up  attic,  so  I  quenched  my  desire 
for  luxury,  jgajld  'Pon't  be  a  Clam'  and  took  a  bar  of 
Siddall's." 


384:  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

'^  January  26^  1898. 

"Some  one  has  sent  me  ^  Merivale '  and  Marzials'  ^  Life 
of  Thackeray.'  Mary  spoke  of  trying  to  learn  to  like 
Matthew  Arnold,  because  I  do.  I  like  Arnold's  poems, 
but  I  don't  feel  so  fond  of  him,  I  do  love  Thackeray, 
and  it  seems  more  for  himself  than  for  his  writings.  I 
haven't  always  cared  to  read  '  Vanity  Fair,'  but  I  want 
you  when  reading  Thackeray  to  think  of  the  loving 
kindness  of  the  man,  chaperoning  his  little  girls  to 
children's  parties,  helping  unfortunate  authors  with 
checks  out  of  his  own  pocket  when  he  couldn't  spoil  his 
magazine  by  accepting  their  contributions.  I  have  a  slip 
of  paper  on  my  ^  Vanity  Fair '  flyleaf  on  which  is 
written,  ^  Concerning  Thackeray. ' 

"  One  loved  him  almost  as  one  loves  a  woman, — think- 
ing of  him  when  away  from  him  was  a  source  of  joy 
which  cannot  be  analyzed  but  was  full  of  comfort.  One 
who  loved  him,  loved  him  thus  because  his  heart  was 
tender  as  is  the  heart  of  a  woman. 

"  I  have  been  remembering  all  these  days  last  year  at 
this  time  when  mamma  was  dying.  I  am  glad  she  is  so 
happy.  Last  year  I  prayed  God  to  make  me  better.  I 
promised  to  change  as  far  as  I  could  what  mamma  saw 
was  faulty  in  me  so  I  could  please  her  if  she  lived. 
Afterwards  I  added,  ^  And  even  if  mamma  doesn't  live, 

0  God,  do  make  me  different.'  " 

"The  blind  child  I  wrote  you  of,— Yu  Fu's  little  boy, 
is  here  now.  He  is  devoted  to  one  of  my  dolls, — an  ugly 
patched  one,  but  he  lugs  it  and  hugs  it  and  hunts  it  when 

1  hide  it  (in  easy  places).  He  sees  better  to  walk  now 
than  before.  I  gave  him  a  bath  once  and  often  he  comes 
around  saying,  *Ma  Ku,  I  want  a  bath.'  But  his  little 
sister  didn't  like  the  bath  at  all.  Their  mother,  Mrs. 
Yu  Fu,  invited  me  to  eat  dumplings  yesterday.     The 


.ETTEKS  OF  HENKIETTA  WILLIAMS     385 

blind  boy  and  baby  girl  had  shockingly  dirty  faces,  and 
while  I  waited,  I  yearned  to  wash  them,  but  didn't  know 
whether  it  was  etiquette,  when  invited  out  to  dine,  to  wash 
your  hostess's  children's  faces.  Mrs.  Yu  Fu  is  so  bright 
and  good-natured.  I  am  fond  of  her,  but  she  is  so  slat- 
ternly. I  have  talked  to  her  gently,  but  it  did  no  good, 
and  the  Chinese  have  talked  to  her  and  about  her  with  a 
great  frankness  which  I  hadn't  the  courage  to  imitate, 
but  that  seems  to  have  done  no  good  either. 

"Thirteen  of  our  seventeen  scholars  have  unbound 
feet.  Two  of  the  small-footed  girls  are  very  poor,  and  so 
miserably  supplied  with  shoes  by  their  parents  that  they 
act  as  awful  warnings  to  those  scholars  who  have  un- 
bound their  own  feet,  but  think  small  feet  pretty. 

"It  seems  harder  than  usual  to  keep  the  younger  girls 
looking  tidy  and  clean  this  winter.  They  remind  me  of 
boys,  with  the  same  fine  facility  for  wearing  out  their 
clothes  and  their  shoes,  breaking  household  articles,  and 
getting  their  faces  and  hands  dirty.  It  is  a  great  bless- 
ing, however,  that  they  are  all  well.  Outsiders  usually 
comment  on  the  scholars'  appearance,  thus  : — *  How  fat 
they  look ! '  which  is  almost  as  great  a  compliment  in 
China  as  it  is  in  Dahomey." 

^^  March  16,  1898, 
"Dear  Girls: 

"There  are  so  many  old  photographs  in  a  box 
upstairs.  As  I  looked  them  over  to-day,  I  was  moved 
to  compose  a  few  stanzas  of  a  poem,  on  this  style  : 

"Such  stacks  of  pictures  !    Here's  for  you 

A  nameless  photograph. 
And  others  heaped  are  nameless  too. 

What  shall  I  do  ?    I  laugh 
At  bonnet  huge,  and  hoop-skirt  vast. 

I  hardly  know  the  half. 


386  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

**My  father  holding  infant  son. 

Son  wears  an  open  smile. 
This  work  is  framed  in  plush  and  gilt. 

I  know  him,  but  a  pile 
Of  old  and  young  of  either  sex 

In  1870  style 
Are  quite  unknown.     Ah,  here's  a  name, 

A  baby  called  '  Lenore. ' 
I  see  it  was  in  Pittsburg  ta'en, 

I  may  find  out  some  more. 
Perhaps  it  was  our  cousin's  babe. 

How  many  has  she?    Four? 

**  And  one  has  '  Mother  from  the  oil 
Painting. '     How  can  I  tell 
Whose  mother  'twas?    There  are  not  few 

Of  them.     Like  merely  writing  '  jell ' 
Upon  the  paper  covered  up. 
You  guess  the  kind — 'tis  well." 

''March  18th, 
"  My  Little  Sister  : 

'*  Mamma  said  once  she  wanted  me  to  write  to  you 
about  coming  to  China. 

''  I  haven't  asked  you  to,  because  I  wanted  you  to  de- 
cide. I  have  ambitions  for  you.  such  as  I  had  once  for 
myself.  Yet  let  God  lead  you.  If  I  had  you  with  me, 
all  my  own  to  walk  and  ride  and  talk  with,  I  would  be 
happy,  so  happy. 

''  But  I  am  not  lonely.  While  alone,  God  has  come  to 
me.  I  have  such  wrong  things  in  me,  but  God  has  not 
left  me  a  prey  to  them.  My  Master  who  bought  me 
does  not  let  go  of  me.  *Meet  to  be  partakers  with  the 
saints  in  light,  partakers  of  the  divine  inheritance.^  Oh, 
why  can't  we  think  always  of  these  things  ! " 

''April  16  J  1898. 
"Mrs.  Larson's  friendship  is  such  a  comfort  to  me.     I 
have  needed  companionship  this  year.     I've  had  so  many 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     387 

good  rides  lately,  because  Mr.  Larson  and  Mr.  Stenberg 
were  here  and  could  go  with  me.  It  seems  unusual  to 
thank  God  for  letting  them  be  here  to  take  me  riding, 
but  it  has  kept  me  in  good  spirits  to  have  the  rides  and 
to  have  their  company.  Don't  you  know,  Mary,  how 
thankful  we  are  for  some  little  indulgence  sometimes 
that  doesn't  cost  near  so  much  as  other  things'?  We  get 
our  clothes  and  food  with  apathy,  but  are  delighted  with 
some  little  ribbon  or  ring  that  comes  in  just  right,  and 
we  feel  that  we  must  be  good  a  long  time  for  the  kind- 
ness. 

''  I  have  been  so  happy  lately  in  thinking  of  Jesus  as 
the  one  who  would  make  me  what  I  ought  to  be.  I  shan't 
worry  about  myself,  about  not  keeping  on.  It  seems  that 
God  is  going  to  keep  me,  because  I  am  so  weak.  Yes- 
terday I  prayed  especially  for  this.  I  said  to  God  that 
He  knew  how  weak  and  unstable  I  was,  that  there  was 
no  dependence  to  be  put  on  me,  so  it  was  all  for  Him  to 
do.  I  asked  that  what  He  wanted  me  to  do  should  be 
made  just  staringly  plain  before  me,  just  as  He  did  for 
the  children  of  Israel.  Other  people  are  better,  and  can 
stand  periods  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  and  still  trust, 
but  now  I  want  to  be  led.  I  want  to  feel  God  is  with  me, 
or  I  can't  get  along.  Then  I  thought,  *I  believe  God 
means  to  save  me,  and  I  want  to  be  taken  care  of.' 

**  Ever  since  I  have  had  it  with  me  as  a  lovely  support- 
ing thought  that  Jesus  is  with  me  and  is  going  to  make 
me  into  what  He  wants.  I  almost  feel  wrong  as  if  I  were 
over  bold,  but  some  of  the  Bible  seems  to  mean  just  that. 
I  feel  perhaps  as  an  opium-user  might,  who  has  put  him- 
self in  a  refuge  where  he  knows  he  cannot  get  out  and  the 
doctor  will  cure  him.  And  just  as  he  is  shut  in,  he  feels, 
^  I  am  going  to  be  cured.  Even  though  I  cry  and  rave 
for  opium,  I  cannot  get  it.  Though  I  strive  to  get  out,  I 
cannot  until  I  am  cured.     I  am  going  to  be  cured  I  know, 


388  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

not  because  of  anything  I  can  do,  except  my  coming  here, 
but  because  of  the  doctor.^  " 

^^  April  2Sd, 
"I  am  so  glad  because  one  of  my  prayers  is  answered. 
I  prayed  that  I  might  love  to  read  the  Bible.  Before 
this,  I  loved  it  when  I  could  get  at  it,  but  now  I  want  to 
read  so  much,  and  I  think  of  so  many  nice  places  that  I 
want  to  read  all  at  once.'' 


^^  April 

"Yesterday  I  didn't  feel  so  at  peace,  but  to-day  I  got 
a  beautiful  verse,  Jeremiah  31 :  12.  ^  And  their  soul 
shall  be  as  a  watered  garden,  and  they  shall  not  sorrow 
any  more  at  all.'  It  was  so  beautiful  to  sit  there  and 
think  it  over, — that  my  soul  should  be  as  a  watered 
garden.  It  lasted  me  all  the  morning,  through  the  study 
with  the  teacher,  which  I  enjoy,  and  the  walk  to  the  hill, 
where  I  could  sit  and  see  the  snow-capped  mountains 
beyond  the  blue.  There  was  that  undercurrent  of  joy  all 
through.  ^My  soul  shall  be  as  a  watered  garden,— as  a 
watered  garden.' 

*'It  means  something  very  wonderful  and  beautiful, 
and  I  know  just  a  little  bit,  and  the  rest  of  the  meaning 
is  going  to  unfold  as  I  go  on." 

'^  May  20,  1898. 

*^I  am  alone  in  the  compound  now,  as  all  have  gone 
to  mission  meeting. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague  went  late,  because  there  has 
been  sickness  in  our  Girls'  School.  Six  girls  had  it  more 
or  less  heavily.  They  had  sore  throats  and  headaches. 
People  outside  the  school  had  rash  and  were  sick  two  or 
three  days,  but  the  two  girls  I  had  in  my  room  at  the 
schoolhouse  where  I  slept  and  took  care  of  them,  were  sick 
two  weeks  in  a  kind  of  delirium.     Er-tzu  called  constantly 


LETTEKS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     389 

for  the  school  matron,  and  after  she  had  quieted  down, 
Tsu-tzu  kept  calling  for  her  mother  and  brother.  We 
were  afraid  of  typhoid  or  typhus.  I  read  all  the  books  I 
could  find,  and  tried  all  the  remedies  I  dared.  Mr. 
Sprague  thought  to  save  criticism  we  ought  to  call  in  a 
Chinese  doctor.  I  examined  the  herbs  he  sent  in  to  be 
steeped.  Caraway  was  among  them,  and  sliced  pears, 
and  turnips.  I  don't  think  it  hurt  them  and  it  made  the 
Chinese  feel  safer.  The  Spragues  stayed  four  days  after 
they  should  have  started  for  the  meeting,  and  the  girls 
were  so  much  better  it  seemed  that  they  ought  to  go. 
May  18th  I  got  a  telegram  from  Peking  with  '  Loving 
greetings,  how  the  sick  mission  ? '  I  telegraphed  back 
*  All  well.'  The  girls  are  all  well  now,  though  they  did 
manage  to  make  quite  a  serious  showing  for  a  while. 

* '  r  m  j  ust  back  from  prayer-meeting.  I  play  the  organ 
now  after  a  fashion  for  services.  I  do  it  to  keep  Helper 
Feng  Ke  from  playing.  He  has  more  confidence,  but  less 
sense  of  time  than  I.  To-day  the  congregation  couldn't 
sing  St.  Ann's,  so  I  played  a  solo,  first  and  fourth  verses. 
Feng  always  gives  out  the  fourth  verse  early  if  the  sing- 
ing doesn't  go  well. 

"  I  told  you  of  Mrs.  Larson's  little  Mary  Louise,  born 
April  5th,  didn't  I?  The  baby  is  so  well  and  good. 
Tuesday  we,  baby  and  all,  went  up  the  mountain  by  the 
Larson  house.  We  found  branches  of  such  lovely  yellow 
roses.  I  am  going  to  get  some  roots  from  there.  The 
branches  are  in  a  Chinese  jar  in  Mrs.  Larson's  parlor  and 
look  like  an  ^  Art  Amateur  Study,'  only  nicer." 

(Etta's  last  letter,  written  in  pencil  in  a  wavering  hand.) 

"  Tuesday,  May  24,  1898, 
*^  Dear  Mrs.  Larson  : 

"  I  am  not  very  sick,  but  if  you  could  come  over 
this  morning,  I  would  be  glad.     If  it  isn't  convenient  to 


390  BY  THE  GEEAT  WALL 

come,  don't  mind,  for  I  have  the  water-carrier's  wife  with 
me,  and  Mrs.  Sung,  the  matron,  is  very  kind  and  comes  in 
at  evening  and  early  mornings  to  inquire  if  I  want  any- 
thing. Lovingly, 

^^Henkietta  B.  Williams. '' 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larson's  home  was  in  the  Upper  City 
of  Kalgan,  some  two  miles  from  the  American  Board 
compound.  Mrs.  Larson  had  a  little  seven  weeks'  baby, 
but  on  receiving  Etta's  note,  she  took  the  baby  and  went 
over  to  be  with  her.  Mrs.  Larson  has  written  of  those 
last  days. 

^^  It  had  seemed  to  me  that  Miss  Williams  looked  pale 
after  the  strain  of  nursing  her  scholars.  But  she  said  it 
was  only  that  she  had  lost  sleep,  and  would  be  all  right 
soon.  When  her  note  came  Tuesday  I  took  the  baby  and 
went  over  immediately.  I  found  her  looking  very  ill, 
but  not  in  bed.  Talking  tired  her  and  she  spoke  slowly. 
I  had  her  go  to  bed,  and  stayed  with  her  until  she  died 
on  May  30th.  She  thought  it  a  touch  of  pleurisy.  I  felt 
sure  it  was  the  dreaded  typhus  fever,  and  lifted  my  heart 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  with  us.  And  He  was.  Do  not 
feel,  dear  friends,  that  it  was  accident  that  she  should 
give  her  life  as  it  were  for  her  girls,  or  that  her  death  was 
owing  to  lack  of  medical  skill.  It  seemed  to  me  that  she 
could  not  have  recovered  in  any  case.  The  Lord  Jesus 
just  wanted  her  home,  and  took  her.  It  was  a  terrible 
disease.  Many  of  the  Chinese  women  were  afraid  to  come 
and  help  watch,  but  Mrs.  Yu  Fu  and  Mrs.  Sung  helped 
all  they  could.  I  had  my  little  baby  in  the  next  room, 
and  went  from  one  to  the  other.  Miss  Williams  gave  me 
commissions  for  different  women,  and  wanted  the  school 
closed  and  the  girls  sent  home.  In  these  directions  she 
was  clear,  but  soon  she  grew  delirious,  and  called  for  her 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     391 

mother.  For  two  days  she  caUed  me  ^  Mamma.  ^  Thurs- 
day she  was  quite  wild,  and  no  one  could  help,  for  the 
Chinese  women  were  frightened,  and  they  could  do  noth- 
ing with  her.  With  me,  she  was  docile,  and  a  little  talk- 
ing would  quiet  her  down.  That  night  when  no  one 
would  help,  Jesus  came  very  near  us  in  the  sick-room. 
Etta  spoke  of  it,  and  I  felt  Him,  and  she  slept  all  night. 
She  had  not  slept  before.  Friday  noon,  our  nearest  neigh- 
bor Mrs.  Soderbom  from  Hsuan  Hua,  twenty  miles  away, 
came  to  help,  and  we  took  turns  with  her.  Saturday  she 
was  wild  again  and  Mrs.  Soderbom  had  hard  work  to  get 
her  to  lie  down.  She  thought  the  house  was  burning  and 
the  schoolgirls  and  her  father  being  killed.  Your  father 
will  tell  you  the  rest.  Mr.  Friedstrom  had  gone  to  meet 
the  returning  party  and  hasten  them,  and  Mr.  Williams 
reached  here  Saturday  noon.  That  evening  she  knew 
Mrs.  Sung  and  others.  I  gave  her  a  verse  and  she  smiled. 
She  seemed  to  know  that  she  would  not  live,  but  the  fear 
she  had  in  the  beginning  was  taken  away.  She  spoke  of 
that.  And  after  that  she  fell  into  a  heavy  stupor  until 
the  end,— just  breathed  herself  to  sleep. 

*^It  seems  wonderful  to  think  of  her  being  with  Jesus. 
She  lived  close  to  Him  here,  and  seemed  to  become  better 
acquainted  with  Him  in  these  last  few  years.  ^^ 


(Letter  from  her  father.) 

^''KalgaUj  June  7,  1898, 
"  Dear  Children  : 

''Etta  passed  away  May  30th  at  10.45  p.  M.,  after 
eleven  days'  sickness.  It  was  the  typhus  of  which  Miss 
Diament  died,  and  she  took  it  from  her  scholars  as  Miss 
Diament  did.  When  I  saw  her,  it  seemed  certain  that 
no  physician's  aid  could  avail.  I  came  Saturday  morn- 
ing, and  she  recognized  me,  and  smiled.    On  Sunday  she 


392  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

was  in  a  stupor,  sometimes  speaking  incoherently  in 
Chinese,  but  mostly  quiet. 

^'  The  Chinese  were  afraid  we  were  not  giving  enough 
water,  and  the  women  and  girls  would  slip  in  at  the  back 
door  to  take  water  to  her.  It  was  hard  to  keep  them 
away.  We  had  ice,  and  gave  much  water.  The  school- 
girls were  sent  off  in  two  carts.  They  were  all  crying. 
By  Monday  evening  it  was  all  over.  We  held  the  serv- 
ice Tuesday  noon,  and  she  was  buried  beside  her  mother 
and  Miss  Diament.  So  now  there  are  three  graves  side 
by  side,  and  three  to  rise  together  at  the  resurrection  of 
the  just. 

"  Miss  Diament  and  Etta  both  died  at  their  posts, 
caring  for  their  scholars  in  a  contagious  disease.  Etta 
died  on  the  day  Margaret  and  Anna  were  born, — Decora- 
tion Day.  Like  the  soldiers,  she  died  for  others,  and 
may  well  be  remembered  with  them. 

"It  was  Providence  that  Mrs.  Larson  was  near. 
Though  with  a  young  baby  she  watched  over  Etta  three 
or  four  days  when  she  was  delirious.  Then  Mrs.  Soder- 
bom  came  and  helped  four  more  days  till  the  end.  God 
was  good  to  send  such  help.  Doubtless  a  physician 
could  have  done  no  more  for  her  than  was  done  vainly 
for  Dr.  McBride.  The  disease  is  often  uncontrollable. 
Caution  against  contagion  is  the  only  sure  help.  The 
children  from  whom  she  took  the  fever  had  it  so  lightly 
that  no  one  recognized  the  disease,  thinking  it  scarlet 
fever.  And  Etta  found  it  difficult  to  find  Chinese  women 
to  wait  on  the  sick  ones  properly.  The  Spragues  stayed 
till  the  girls  were  well,  and  Etta  showed  no  sign  of  ill- 
ness then. 

"In  her  brief  life,  Etta  had  good  opportunities  for 
being  useful.  At  school  she  was  loved.  In  her  three 
years  at  Santee,  she  won  the  affection  of  her  scholars,  and 
in  her  five  years  here,  she  showed  her  interest  in  the 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     393 

women  and  schoolgirls.  She  delighted  in  touring,  and 
the  Chinese  felt  that  she  was  born  among  them  and  loved 
them.  So  that  she  has  not  lived  or  died  in  vain.  I  can 
say  that  this  is  God's  will  and  *  His  will  be  done.' 

"  Etta  was  of  a  sunny  nature,  never  faultfinding,  con- 
tented in  all  circumstances,  generous,  making  others 
happy  with  her  bright  sayings.  The  Swedish  ladies 
loved  her.  Miss  Haven  said,  when  I  spoke  of  Etta's 
plan  to  spend  the  coming  summer  at  the  Western  Hills, 
*  I  do  enjoy  being  with  her.' 

**  Hsin  Wu  mourned  at  the  grave,  feeling  that  she  had 
lost  her  last  friend.  We  shall  help  her  sometimes  stiU 
of  course. 

"  Within  a  little  more  than  a  year  have  come  two  gaps 
in  our  family. 

"It  is  good  to  think  of  Etta  and  your  mother  together 
with  Christ.     So  all  is  well. 

"  Your  loving  father, 

"  Mark  Williams.'' 

Mrs.  Sprague  wrote  in  a  letter  to  friends  : 
''Etta  was  delightful  company,  always  cheerful,  with 
something  amusing  to  talk  about.  In  her  most  trying 
experiences  with  the  Chinese,  she  always  found  some- 
thing funny,  and  she  had  an  inimitable  way  of  telling  of 
her  experiences  which  made  her  the  life  of  our  little 
circle.  And  how  she  loved  her  schoolgirls  !  She  loved 
to  pet  them  and  was  only  anxious  to  be  quite  im- 
partial in  showing  affection.  When  she  was  nursing  the 
two  little  girls  from  whom  she  took  the  contagion,  she 
had  no  idea  that  their  illness  was  anything  alarming, 
and  told  me  that  she  quite  enjoyed  the  girls'  little  sick- 
ness for  it  gave  her  a  chance  to  pet  them,  and  give  little 
dainties  and  show  little  favors  without  making  the 
other  children  j  ealous. ' ' 


394  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

Mrs.  Goodrich  wrote  : 

"  I  shall  always  think  of  her  as  one  of  those  disciplined 
oaes  who  take  a  great  delight  in  heaven.  .  .  .  How 
much  I  had  hoped  for  her  visit,  personally, — how  much 
for  the  children's  sake.  She  had  such  a  sweet  spirit, 
and  won  the  children  so  !  God  knows,  yes,  God  knows 
all  these  ought- not- to -be  things.  He  allows  them,  and  out 
of  them,  in  His  infinite  mercy.  He  always  works  good." 

(Etta's  letter  "To  be  Eead  if  I  die.") 
(This  was  written  the  night  after  her  mother's  death, 
when  Etta  was  worn  with  watching.) 

"  January  27,  1897. 

"  I  felt  a  sinking  at  heart,  and  I  trembled  all  over.  It 
seemed  as  if  I  were  going  to  die.  So  I  got  up  and  lighted 
a  candle  and  wanted  to  write  good-byes,  and  tell  some- 
thing of  what  was  to  be  done  for  the  large-footed  girls  to 
whom  I  give  clothes,  and  my  little  money  which  is  to  be 
given  to  my  brothers  and  sisters.  My  furniture  bought 
when  coming  out  goes  to  the  W.  B.  M.  I.  I  have  been 
an  unprofitable  servant. 

"I  promised  Mrs.  Sung  a  place  to  stay  if  she  should 
become  too  feeble  to  work  in  the  school.  I  would  like 
some  of  my  money  used  to  pay  her  rent  in  that  case. 
Also  the  gifts  I  promised  to  Jen  Te  Ming  and  Yu  Ohien. 
My  books  and  pictures  given  as  I  have  written  below. 

"I  write  this  in  a  sort  of  pain.  Since  mamma  has 
died,  I  don't  feel  certain  of  life.  I'd  like  to  say  good- 
bye, especially  to  the  nearest  and  dearest, — to  ask  their 
forgiveness  for  anything  I  have  done  or  omitted  that  I 
should  or  should  not  have  done,  and  if  anything  needs 
my  forgiveness,  they  have  it  fully  and  my  love. 

"  Now  I  am  going  to  bed,  and  I  hope  to  sleep.  ^  What 
time  I  am  afraid,  I  will  trust  in  Thee.^  Lord,  I  trust, 
help  Thou  mine  untrust. 

"  He]s:rietta  B.  Williams." 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     395 

(Letter  to  Mrs.  Bertha  Harris  Arnold.) 

^*  These  past  months,  I  have  been  reaching  out  after 
God  as  I  cannot  remember  having  done  before.  I  want 
to  go  to  Him  so  much,  though  I  am  well,  and  not  wor- 
ried or  in  trouble.  But  it  seems  so  good  to  think  of 
going  to  One  who  is  perfectly  noble  and  wonderful,  who 
wants  me  and  cares  for  me. 

*'  I  cannot  think  of  anything  better  than  to  adore  some 
one  who  is  worthy  of  worship,  unless  perhaps  it  is  to  be 
of  great  help  to  some  one  in  great  misery.  And  this  is 
not  better,  but  only  a  different  kind  of  joy. 

"I  cannot  quote  the  words  of  Erskine  of  Linlathen 
concerning  the  Duchess  de  Broglie.  That  in  the  midst  of 
everything  attractive,  with  beauty,  position,  intellect,  ad- 
miration of  the  multitude  and  love  of  many  friends,  she 
cried  out  for  God.  That  her  heart  craved  the  only  Satis- 
fier  is  the  substance  of  the  paragraph.  I  am  not  like  her. 
It  is  because  I  am  lonely  that  I  reach  out  for  God,  and 
perhaps  God  made  me  lonely  so  that  I  should  seek  Him. 

**I  saw  in  Mrs.  Prentiss'  Life  this  quotation  :  'Only 
God  can  satisfy  a  woman.' 

*'  Do  you  know  who  said  it?  It  is  not  given  with  any 
allusion  to  the  author. 

*'I  am  so  trifling  about  my  reading.  I  reread  some 
paper  or  magazine  when  I  would  really  like  my  Bible 
better  if  only  I  had  it  in  hand.  And  yet  through  all  my 
failings  and  smallnesses  and  forgetfulness,  there  is  the 
undercurrent  thought,  '  I  belong  somewhere  else.  I  am 
going  to  see  Him  surely  some  time,  and  be  all  filled  with 
gladness,  and  waves  of  joy  and  worship  will  pour  over 
me.' 

^'It's  good  to  think  God  is  going  to  let  me  live  near 
Him.  I  always  imagined  it  would  be  easy  to  be  good  if 
I  had  some  one  who  was  very  good  whom  I  loved  very 
much." 


396  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

With  this  letter  to  her  college  friend,  Mrs.  Arnold,  it 
seems  fitting  to  place  a  poem  written  during  her  college 
days  at  Oberlin,  which  is  significant  in  its  beautiful 
allegory. 

HALLO !  MY  FANCY 

"  Hallo  !  my  fancy,  where  wilt  thou  lead  me? 
Give  me  good  reason  why  I  should  heed  thee. 
"What  new  dwelling  for  me  hast  thou  built  ? 
What  sight  to  see  of  airy  tilt 
Between  the  Knights  of  the  Table  Round, 
Where  noble  Arthur  fitly  crowned 
Doth  watch  ?    Or  is  it  far  from  these, 
In  twilight  woods,  by  massive  trees, 
Where  each  tree  hath  its  fostering  maid 
Hiding  from  sight,  with  glance  afraid  ? 
What  one  of  these,  my  fancy  ?  " 

**  O  soul  of  my  charge,  it  is  none  of  these. 
Neither  thy  castle  in  Spain,  where  the  orange  trees 
Wave  to  and  fro  with  perfumed  breath, 
And  the  nightingales  sing  of  Love  and  Death, 
And  the  sighs  of  sad  lovers  filled  with  unrest, 
Are  all  in  the  plaintive  night  wind  expressed ; 
Nor  thy  cloud-castle,  ever  shifting, 
Where  the  winds,  like  boatmen,  send  it  drifting. 
In  this  rare  castle  are  countless  halls, 
Through  which  the  north  wind  whistles  and  calls. 
One  hall  is  of  rosy  sunset  cloud, 
Where  fairy  treasures  on  thee  crowd. 
Red,  gold,  and  yellow,  thou  hast  in  store, 
Aladdin's  self  could  boast  no  more. 
One  hall  is  made  of  a  summer  day's  sky, 
With  all  its  fancied  imagery  ; 
The  great  white  throne  we  saw  one  day, 
As  under  the  trees,  on  the  grass,  we  lay. 
A  flock  of  sheep,  a  ship  at  sea. 
Are  there  as  plain  as  plain  may  be. 
When  the  sun's  gone  down,  and  the  moon's  away, 
The  stars  are  oar  candles,  so  bright  are  they." 


LETTERS  OF  HENRIETTA  WILLIAMS     397 

"  Then  is  it  my  garden,  with  encircling  wall? 
Against  the  stones,  are  my  bookshelves  tall, 
I  open  the  door,  and  there  comes  from  the  shelf 
The  Novelist,  Poet,  or  Preacher,  himself. 
More  to  me  will  he  confide 
Than  he  uttered  to  all  the  world  beside, 
When  with  spoken  words  he  tried  their  ears, 
And  they  gave — not  a  laurel  crown,  but  jeers. 
He  tells  me  the  story  of  his  life, 
His  loves,  his  hates,  his  work,  his  strife. 
Is  it  this  that  shall  entrance  me  ? 
But  thou  sayest,  '  No,'  my  fancy." 

And  where  we  went,  I  cannot  tell, 

Though  it  seemed  that  I  saw  all  heaven  and  hell, 

And  then  was  taken  back  to  earth. 

But  my  shivering  fancy  had  lost  her  mirth. 

Her  butterfly  wings  were  bruised  and  broken ; 

She  sadly  said  it  was  a  token 

That  our  fair  hopes  and  dreams  so  gay 

Like  morning-glories  had  withered  away. 

Poor  fancy  drooped  her  head,  and  bitter  tears  she  shed, 

For  the  orange  trees  were  dead,  and  the  nightingales  had 

fled 
From  the  beautiful  castle  in  Spain. 

In  all  my  house  of  clouds  there  were  left  only  shrouds. 
In  which  I  laid  away  my  dead  hopes,  now  turned  to  clay, 
Yet  some  time  they  will  rise, 

My  fancy's  wings  so  rare,  will  perhaps  be  yet  more  fair ; 
She  will  castles  build  again,  unseen  by  mortal  men, 
Almost  to  reach  the  skies. 

The  following  memorial  sketch  was  written  by  Rev. 
W.  P.  Sprague,  one  of  the  senior  missionaries  at  Kalgan, 
who  had  known  Etta  from  childhood. 

In  Memoeiam 
Henrietta  Blodget  Williams 
My  earliest  recollections  of  Etta,  as  she  was  always 
called,  were  of  a  girl  seven  or  eight  years  old,  absorbed 


398  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

with  her  book, — at  first,  pictures,  then  anything  readable. 
She  literally  devoured  everything  within  reach,  including 
encyclopedias  and  histories. 

Her  power  of  concentration  was  remarkable.  When 
reading,  she  was  totally  oblivious  to  whatever  was  going 
on  around  her,  even  the  loud  calling  of  her  name.  And 
sometimes  her  meals  were  sacrificed  to  her  book. 

She  early  learned  the  art  of  skimming  through  a  book, 
and  yet  gaining  and  retaining  all  its  essential  ideas,  and 
with  a  quick  perception  she  grasped  the  aims,  genius,  and 
characteristics  of  each  author  read.  She  thus  became  an 
excellent  judge  of  most  of  the  writers  of  her  day,  and  her 
criticisms,  while  original,  were  seldom  at  fault. 

Had  she  chosen  to  devote  herself  to  literary  work,  her 
rare  acquaintance  with  others'  writings,  her  vivid 
imagination,  and  especially  her  keen  sense  of  humor, 
with  her  versatility  of  expression  would  almost  certainly 
have  made  her  a  successful  and  popular  writer.  But  she 
early  determined  to  give  herself  and  whatever  talents  she 
possessed  to  the  uplifting  of  her  downtrodden  sisters  in 
China. 

To  this  end,  on  arriving  in  Kalgan,  she  attacked  the 
language  vigorously,  and  applying  to  it  her  well-trained 
memory  and  systematic  habits  of  study,  she  soon  recalled 
the  language  of  her  childhood,  and  also  gained  familiarity 
with  the  written  character.  When  new  missionaries 
came  to  the  station,  she  was  a  great  help  to  them  in  learn- 
ing the  language. 

What  she  learned,  Etta  began  early  to  use  in  teaching 
and  preaching  to  women  and  children,  and  at  once  be- 
came a  great  favorite  with  all.  Improved  methods  of 
study  were  introduced  into  her  girls'  school.  She  was 
specially  interested  in  the  anti -foot-binding  movement, 
and  in  her  school  the  number  of  girls  with  unbound  feet 
increased  in  three  years  from  one  to  thirteen. 


LETTEES  OF  HENEIETTA  WILLIAMS     399 

But  she  could  not  rest  in  school  work  alone  while  so 
little  was  being  done  for  the  women  outside.  She  secured 
an  efficient  teacher  for  the  school,  and  gradually  left  some 
of  the  routine  work  to  others  while  she  went  out  on  horse- 
back tours  where  there  were  Christian  families,  and  her 
missionary  horse  became  known  in  many  places.  In 
summer  vacations,  she  rode  to  the  most  distant  out- 
stations,  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  away.  And 
everywhere  she  endeavored  to  teach  the  women  and  chil- 
dren to  read  the  Bible  and  pray  and  sing.  I  remember 
meeting  her  on  one  of  these  distant  tours.  She  was  out 
in  the  chapel  court  after  a  service,  giving  further  instruc- 
tion to  those  who  would  listen.  She  had  one  child  on  her 
lap,  held  two  others  by  the  hand,  while  half  a  dozen 
others  crowded  against  her,  and  a  dozen  women  sat 
around,  and  all  listened  eagerly  to  her  Bible  stories,  or 
tried  to  follow  her  in  singing.  She  seemed  for  a  time  one 
of  them.  She  wore  the  native  women's  costume,  and 
greatly  enjoyed  eating  Chinese  food  with  them.  Her 
visits  were  all  too  short  for  the  people  who  clung  to  her 
and  urged  her  to  come  again  soon.  Often  and  often  I 
have  been  asked,  ''When  is  Miss  Williams  coming 
again  ?  "     She  pleased  all  by  doing  so  much  for  them. 

It  was  just  this  giving  of  herself  unreservedly  to  others^ 
wants  that  cost  her  her  life.  For  when  her  schoolgirls 
were  taken  sick  there  was  nothing  she  did  not  do  for 
them.  She  was  with  them  night  and  day.  The  school 
room  now  became  a  hospital,  for  there  were  five  girls 
down  with  the  fever  at  once.  Every  real  and  imaginary 
want  was  attended  to  personally. 

As  there  was  no  physician  to  be  had  (Dr.  Waples  had 
gone  to  America  two  months  before),  she  did  not  suspect 
it  was  typhus  until  too  late.  As  her  father  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sprague  had  gone  to  mission  meeting,  she  was  quite 
alone  with  the  girls  except  for  the  help  of  Chinese  women. 


400  BY  THE  GREAT  WALL 

The  Swedish  ladies  in  another  part  of  the  city  offered  to 
come,  but  she  thought  she  did  not  need  any  help.  And 
even  when  she  came  down,  she  was  loth  to  call  Mrs. 
Larson  till  she  was  barely  able  to  write  the  word.  In 
three  days  another  lady,  Mrs.  Soderbom,  came  to  help, 
and  the  next  day  her  father  returned.  But  then  she  was 
scarcely  able  to  speak,  though  she  recognized  him,  and 
expressed  joy  at  seeing  him.  The  third  day  after,  her 
spirit  took  its  flight  into  the  Heavenly  Land.  While  she 
entered  into  rest,  and  the  reward  of  those  who  have  given 
their  lives  for  others,  we  were  left  to  mourn  her  absence 
from  us,  and  sorrow  that  one  so  well  fitted  and  so  much 
needed  should  be  called  from  earthly  service  in  less  than 
five  years  from  beginning  work  for  these  Chinese  of  her 
native  city. 

Who  knows  but  this  short,  earnest,  self-giving  life 
may  kindle  the  spiritual  life  of  some,  even  many,  who 
perhaps  because  of  this  death  may  be  used  of  God  in 
accomplishing  great  things  in  His  kingdom  ?  And  is  not 
this  a  call  for  some  other  self-denying  volunteer  to  take  up 
the  fallen  standard,  and  from  her  gained  vantage  ground, 
carry  on  this,  the  Master^  s  work  to  a  grand  consumma- 
tion! 

*^  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that 
a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends  J*^ 


RETURN               MAIN  CIRCULATION 
TO— ^ 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL 
RENEW  BOOKS  BY  CALLING  642-3405 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

(ijuji  ihi^ho 

NOV  1  6  200 

3 

FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


BDDD7DE77T 


320338 


f'  ** 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


mm 

'Hi     !!• 


;i| 

ii  I!  ii  iii  ii  ilBflHIHHHH^^^^^H 

1  j  1  il||^^p 

r  M    ii    1!!     t 

'!^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

1 

'II 

^ 

1 

■1 

■ 

\m 

1 

:':iHI 

■w 

